


Juniper: the Ghost and his Valkyrie

by Zeroan



Series: RWBY Superhero Universe [11]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:20:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 56,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29107713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zeroan/pseuds/Zeroan
Summary: It's still January technically, okay?
Relationships: Jaune Arc/Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie
Series: RWBY Superhero Universe [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/783903
Comments: 32
Kudos: 31





	1. Anniversary

_Thunder. Lightning._

_Relentless rain._

_She kneeled over him, shivering and sobbing and calling out his name. She shook him by the shoulders and kissed his cheeks, but his eyes continued to stare emptily at the sky._

_The ground trembled. She felt something looming closer, and in the flashes of lightning she saw a shadow stretching over her, but she refused to look up. She only had eyes for him._

_Suddenly, the clouds parted, a bright light tearing through the sky and flooding everything in white. She pressed herself atop him and closed her eyes, and heard an anguished shriek echo through the storm._

_After that, she remembered nothing else._

* * *

_**JUNIPER** _

_**THE GHOST AND HIS VALKYRIE** _

* * *

Easing on the gas, Pyrrha pulled over to the right, taking her motorcycle from the concrete road to the grassy field beside it. She drove a bit farther, then stopped and took off her helmet, shaking her head to clear the hair from her eyes. Behind her, Jaune unwrapped his arms from around her waist and took off his own helmet, and she felt him gasp against the back of her neck.

"Woah," he said, getting off the bike. "Is that the house? I'd thought it'd be… smaller."

Pyrrha turned off the engine and got off, glancing towards where Jaune was staring. Her father's summer cabin was just as she remembered it, standing amidst the grass a short walk away from the road. Sturdy walls built from pine wood, two stories tall, with a roof slanted westward. The only thing that had changed were the windows, which were dusty from years of disuse.

Still, it felt like a whole lifetime had passed since last she'd been here.

"Pyrrha?" Jaune said, looking back at her. "You there?"

Pyrrha blinked. "Yes. Sorry. I was just thinking that it's been a long time since I last came here."

"How long exactly?" Jaune asked.

"I came to spend my twelfth birthday with my father," Pyrrha said. "We stayed a few days in the cabin. We went to the beach, and I got my favorite ice cream after every meal. Obviously, that wasn't allowed in Beacon."

"Well yeah, and you still allow yourself only one ice cream per week," Jaune said, grinning.

" _Because_ moderation and self-control are the keys to a healthy lifestyle, Jaune," Pyrrha said. "I've told you this already."

"Yup, many times," Jaune said. "Anyway, sounds like you had a fun time here."

"I did," Pyrrha said. She decided not to mention that had been the last birthday she'd spent with her father, or with anyone who wasn't working directly with her at the time, for that matter – until she met Jaune and the others, of course.

"I wish my family had a summer house like this," Jaune said, pouting. "We didn't really do away-from-home vacations. My parents gave up on those after the fourth or fifth child, I think. Can't blame them – I mean, if they took their eyes off us for a minute, who could say we weren't going to trip and fall down a well, you know?"

Pyrrha chuckled. "I'm sure they had your best interests at heart," she said. "Here, take the keys and take a look inside while I park the bike."

She fished the keys to the house out of her bag and offered them to Jaune, and he took them eagerly.

"Are there any, like, traps I should know about before I walk inside?" he asked.

"Not unless my father has gotten really paranoid about intruders," Pyrrha said, and Jaune stared at her with a frown. Pyrrha grinned. "He hasn't, Jaune. You should be safe."

"Of course!" Jaune said, spinning the keys around his finger. "I was just joking. I'm a superhero, ain't no house trap killing me, no sir."

He gave her a smile, and jogged up to the front of the cabin, fiddling with the keys for a moment before he found the right one and went inside. Pyrrha put her helmet down on the seat and grabbed her bike by the handles, taking it around to the side of the house and parking it there.

The smell of salt and wet sand hit her nose, and she took a moment to take it in with her eyes closed. It was said smell was capable of triggering strong memories, and this one certainly did that for her. Except, just like with the sight of the house, these memories felt distant, more than they should have. Not just from a lifetime ago, but from another life altogether.

Pyrrha opened her eyes and shook her head, smiling to herself. What was she doing, having such… strange thoughts, when she was just starting the best vacation of her life with her most favorite person in the world? This wasn't the time to ponder about the past, but rather to enjoy the here and now.

She walked back around to the front and passed through the front door. The inside of the cabin hadn't changed either, still as spacious as she remembered it. There was a layer of dust everywhere, though, just like the windows, and Pyrrha had to stop herself from immediately searching for a broom to clean everything up with.

"Hey, I can see the sea from here!" Jaune said, gesturing her over to the sliding glass doors on the back of the cabin. "Would you look at that. Waves and everything. Is the water nice, do you think?"

"Around this time of year? It should be perfect," Pyrrha said.

"Good thing I brought my swimming trunks!" Jaune said, patting his trusty backpack. Pyrrha was always impressed by his ability to fit so many clothes and utensils in one single container, and in such a haphazard manner. Her travel bag wasn't large either, but that was because she knew how to pack efficiently.

"Well, I brought my swimwear as well, as I'm sure you'll be happy to know," Pyrrha said, and Jaune nodded earnestly. "We could go for a swim later, if you want."

"Heck yeah! But be warned, once you see my swimming form, you're gonna be _so impressed_ ," Jaune said. "Trust me, you've never seen someone dog-paddle quite like yours truly."

"Then I'll be sure to take notes!" Pyrrha said. "How about after dinner? We've got to prepare everything first."

"Sure. Speaking of," Jaune said, "what time is your dad gonna show up?"

Pyrrha looked at the front door. Funny that Jaune should ask that, as she had been thinking about the very same thing. Not at the moment, but the matter had been on her mind for pretty much the entire ride here.

"Pyr?" Jaune called. "You're drifting off again. Come back to me."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Pyrrha said. "I didn't mean to ignore you. I don't know why I'm so scatterbrained today."

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'm sure you're just tired from the travel or something," Jaune said. "But about your dad. I gotta know an estimate at least, or else he might show up and the food's gonna be all cold, and that'd be a _bad_ first impression."

"That _would_ be unfortunate," Pyrrha said. "He said he took a plane to Suisen, and that he had some business to take care of there first. It's a couple hours drive from there, so we can expect him at seven or eight o'clock."

"Okay. That gives me plenty of time to get everything just right," Jaune said, rubbing his hands together. "I took a look at the kitchen, everything's good, and we've already got the ingredients, so… No reason not to get straight to work, I guess."

He nodded and started walking towards the kitchen. Pyrrha stood for a moment, staring out at the sea, before she turned and grabbed Jaune by the wrist.

"Wait," she said, and Jaune turned to look at her with a furrowed brow. "Jaune, you… you know you don't have to go out of your way to make a special dinner for him, right? You don't have to impress him."

"You're right, I don't," Jaune said. "But… I kinda want to, even if I'm a bit scared of screwing up and ruining everything." He shrugged. "And it's not like I'm cooking just for him. This dinner's for us too."

"Hmm. I guess what I meant to say was…" Pyrrha said. "This is _our_ vacation. It's just for us. And I know my father is excited to see me, and to meet you, but we can do that another time. So, if you want to, I can give him a call, and we'll reschedule?"

She took his hands and squeezed, looking him in the eyes, and his frown lessened somewhat.

"Look, Pyrrha, I'm not gonna pretend like the idea of meeting my girlfriend's dad _doesn't_ make me wanna run off to fight a Grimm horde, but," Jaune said. "You had to meet my parents already. It's only fair I meet yours. Or just your dad, at least."

"But I enjoyed meeting your parents," Pyrrha said.

"My dad pretty much interrogated you to make sure you were a real person, and actually my girlfriend," Jaune said. "And Mom was _really_ quick to start telling you about their wedding day. You'd think she has enough daughters already, especially after Saffron married Terra, but _nope_." He rubbed his forehead. "It was a bit disturbing, if I'm being honest. That woman has an obsession."

"She was just happy that we're dating," Pyrrha said. "I thought it was sweet."

"That's because _you_ didn't hear the part about the future grandchildren," Jaune muttered, and Pyrrha tilted her head, sure she'd heard that wrong. " _Moving on_. Pyrrha, I'm okay with meeting your dad. And with impressing him with my Yang-cultivated cooking skills. You don't have to worry about that. And besides, we'll have the rest of the week entirely to ourselves after tonight, so it's no big deal."

Pyrrha sighed. Of course she didn't have to worry.

"You're right. I guess _I'm_ a bit nervous," she said. "About you two meeting, I mean."

"What, you think I'm gonna embarrass you?" Jaune said.

"No, it's nothing like that," Pyrrha said. "It doesn't matter. Dinner will be great. He'll be very impressed with you, I'm sure of it."

"That's the goal," Jaune said. "But, you know what might help with that? Something you taught me - pre-battle planning! So, what can you tell me about your dad? What's he like?"

"Hmm. He's, well… my father," Pyrrha said. She looked around. "Anyway, if you're going to start things in the kitchen, I think I'll start cleaning up the place before he gets here. There's dust everywhere, and the house could use some fresh air. I'll take our bags to the bedroom upstairs while I'm at it. Are you going to need help?"

Jaune looked at her, and Pyrrha knew her attempt at changing topics hadn't gone unnoticed. They'd known each other for way too long for him to fall for her tricks so easily. And, admittedly, she was distracted, which only made her tells more obvious.

"No, I'll be fine for now. I might need another pair of hands later, but I'll call you then," Jaune said. "You go do your cleaning fairy routine."

"Cleaning fairy?" Pyrrha said, raising an eyebrow.

"I was going to go with _goddess_ , but it felt like too much," Jaune said. "I know how you value modesty and all that jazz."

"Well, you can call me a goddess as much as you like, and I'll remain as modest as ever," Pyrrha said. "Not that I'd ever encourage you to do that, mind you."

Jaune nodded. "Okay. Saving that knowledge for later use."

He slipped his backpack off his shoulders and handed it to her. Pyrrha turned and walked towards the stairs to the second floor, but stopped to look over her shoulder as he called her name again.

"Hey, Pyr," Jaune said. "Happy one year?"

Pyrrha smiled.

"Happy one year, Jaune."

* * *

Nora walked down the hallway, humming to herself as she took in her surroundings. All in all, this criminal hideout wasn't too shabby, but it wasn't anything special either. She gave points for the blinking lights – very spooky – and the flower shop front – a timeless classic – but everything was way too clean, which didn't mesh with the overall vibe of the place. It showed that the person in charge didn't care enough to go the extra mile, which was a big shame.

"Hey! Quiet down before I make you!" The thug behind her poked the back of her neck with his pistol, pushing her forward. "And get a move on, will you? This isn't an amusement park."

"Coulda fooled me! Sorry, it's just that I love this part. I always get way too excited before the action begins, you know?" Nora said. "But I'll try to quiet down since you asked so nicely!" She looked back at the man. "So, how long have you been working here? Five, ten years? Or are you new?"

"I _told you_ to quiet down," the thug said.

"Hey, I'm just trying to have a chat. I like to get to know people before I beat them up. That's, like, common courtesy or something!" Nora shrugged. "Is the reason you don't wanna talk because you're insecure about your position here? Maybe you're been here too long, and you're wondering if you're wasting your potential. Or maybe you're like an intern, and you're embarrassed 'cause you're kinda old, but that's okay, you can never be too old to get into a new field of work! Or _maybe_ \- oh is that the room you're taking me?"

"It is, yes!" the thug exclaimed. "Finally. Thank fuck."

"Hey, language, mister!" Nora said. "There's kids around here, you know."

The thug grunted and grabbed her by the back of her collar, shoving her through the doorway at the end of the hallway, which was really unnecessary. It's not like she hadn't quite literally walked into the building asking to be taken here. Why did criminals always have to make such a fuss about these things?

The boss' room was as unremarkable as the rest of the place. No windows anywhere, extravagant paintings on the walls, stacks upon stacks of lien on a table at the center. There was a single metal door which led to the back of the building, where the gang kept their more valuable loot, but Nora had known that way in advance. It was integral to the plan, after all.

The boss sat behind his desk, a burly middle-aged man with a mane of hair to rival a lion's. He looked up as she stumbled in, and raised an eyebrow at the thug still standing behind her. "The hell's this?"

"Girl just walked in, said she needed to talk to you," the thug said. "And also that, uh…"

"I'd really like to punch your teeth in if I get the chance!" Nora said, and smiled. "Which I will. _After_ you hear my business proposal."

The boss looked at her with his mouth half-open, as if he didn't know whether to take her seriously or not. She got that look a lot. She wished she knew why.

"Well, then. I don't have any important work to do, and I could use a few laughs," the boss said, kicking back in his chair. "Please, do take a seat."

Nora walked over and plopped down on the chair on the other side of the desk. She looked around, taking in the guards standing on each corner of the room – one adult man, and three kids, two boys and a girl. They were packing some serious firepower, but she didn't care about that. Her smile tightened for a moment as she looked at the kids, before she turned to face the boss.

"So, what's this _business proposal_ you have for me?" the boss asked.

"Well, it's nothing complicated, so don't worry about writing stuff down or anything," Nora said. "Here's the gist – I know you're a big shot crime lord around these parts. Robberies, extortion, kidnapping, all the usual nasties. And I know you're powerful because you've got a lot of people working for you, a lot of them just kids you pick off the street. Do you get where I'm going with this?"

"Let me guess," the boss chuckled, "you want to work for me."

"Nope. I want you to let go all the kids you've got working for you, and I want you to never get near another one again," Nora said. "In exchange, I won't hurt you so bad you won't be able to keep your droll inside your mouth. Deal?"

The boss stared at her for a moment, then leaned back and started laughing his lungs out. Nora sighed. Why did they never take her on her word?

"Oh, I've gotta give it you, that's good. That's goddamn hilarious." The boss wiped a tear from his eye. "You don't have a drop of fear in you, do you, kid?"

"Nope." Nora pursed her lips. "I sure don't."

"Yeah. Or maybe it's common sense that you're missing, who knows," the boss said, winding down. "Look, do you really think you're the first person who's come to me wanting to play hero? No, there was a long line of people before you who tried to scare me straight, and believe me, they were all much scarier than you."

"I wouldn't be so sure, mister."

The boss huffed, the humor leaving his face as he sat straight in his chair. "Look, kid. Your little act was very entertaining, so I'm gonna do you a favor and let you leave here without a scratch, which is more than I gave the idiots before you. Just take my advice and don't try this shit again, yeah?"

Nora looked at the kids standing guard again. They didn't even look her way, just staring forward like the good little underlings they'd been trained to be.

"Let's start again, because I just realized I forgot to introduce myself," Nora said, looking at the boss. "Actually, I didn't forget. I was just saving it for dramatic effect." She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the desk as she looked him in the eyes. "I'm the Valkyrie."

The boss blinked. "…is that supposed to mean something to me?"

"Yeah, it is! I said, I'm the freakin' Valkyrie!" Nora groaned. "Those freaking jerks, they couldn't even spread my name around like graceful losers! How am I supposed to build a reputation like this?" She threw her hands up. "Alright, fine. Maybe this will give you a clue."

She opened her left hand and concentrated for a moment. A tingle ran down her arm, until with a faint crackle, electric sparks sprouted from her skin and coursed around her fingers. She brought her hand down on the desk, and the boss jumped back, looking with wild eyes as sparks flew from the point of impact.

"You – you're the one who took down the Lazulis!" he said. "You? That was _you_?"

"Yep. And the Black Cobras, and the Owls, and one day I'm gonna take down the Malachite Spiders," Nora said. "But today, I'm settling for just you and your pals. And _you_ better remember my name after I'm done with you, got it?"

The boss's chair clattered on the floor as he stood up, swiping his hand along the underside of his desk. He came up with a gun, aiming it at Nora's forehead, and she only had time to blink at it before he pulled the trigger.

Her head snapped back. The gunshot echoed throughout the room like thunder, and then a quiet noise followed – multiple clangs as the bullet fell between Nora's feet and bounced to a corner of the room. Blowing the hair out of her eyes, Nora slowly tilted her head forward, and looked the man in the eyes.

"Well, that was just _rude_ ," Nora said. "I just told you my name and you shot me for it? No wonder you're a criminal, what respectable company would employ someone with such bad manners?"

The boss pressed his back to the wall behind him, the smoking gun trembling in his hand. He looked around at his guards, who looked just as shocked as he did, and gestured fervently in her direction. "What are you idiots waiting for? Shoot her, shoot her dead!"

The guards raised their guns, but before they could shoot, the metal door on the back swung open, not forcefully, but almost gently dragging across the floor until it hit the wall. Not a soul lay beyond the doorway, just the hallway that stretched on further to the backrooms. Everyone in the room stared aghast, except for Nora, who couldn't help but smile knowingly at the vacant space before she tapped the desk to get the boss' attention again.

"I would take that as a warning, mister," she said. "You reallydon't wanna try and hurt me. It's not gonna end well for you, and trust me, that's _beyond_ my power to stop that, 'kay? Not that I would want to, anyway."

She tilted her head as she stared at the boss, her eyes flashing blue for a split second as electricity coursed through her. He swore under his breath. "Just what kinda freak are you?"

"I'm so glad you asked!" Nora said. "You wouldn't happen to know the story of the valkyries, would ya?"

The boss squinted at her, torn between terror and confusion.

"Thought so," Nora said. "Lemme tell you about them. The valkyries-"

The sound of metal rattling interrupted her, and Nora looked to the right and saw the sole adult guard raising his gun towards her, seemingly recovered from the shock of what he'd seen. He put his finger on the trigger, glaring at her, and she smiled in return.

She loved this part.

The guard tensed, squeezing on the trigger, but stopped suddenly as the silhouette of a person appeared just beside him, there one instant, and gone the next. His gun went flying from his grasp, hitting a wall and falling harmlessly. He looked down at his now empty hands, then looked at her.

"What the f-"

The silhouette reappeared behind him, then vanished. His shout devolved into a moan as his eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he collapsed backwards, hitting the floor like a sack of potatoes.

"See? I warned ya," Nora said, and looked at the other guards. "Wow, wasn't that just the strangest thing, huh? It sure would be smart if you all skedaddled outta here before that happened to someone else…"

The kids looked at each other, then ran out of the room, dropping their guns behind them. Swearing, the boss ran after them, only for the silhouette to appear again and strike him in the chest. He reeled back and hit the wall, gasping for air.

"No, no, you're not leaving just yet. I've still gotta tell you my story, and you better pay attention, okay? I'm counting on you to get the word out," Nora said. "Alright, so, like I was saying – the valkyries were these awesome warrior women from old Mistralian folklore. They lived in the sky, and their job was to come down to Remnant every once in a while to escort the ghosts of dead warriors to a paradise where they could keep fighting for the rest of eternity – for glory or something weird like that."

A smoky smell filled the room. The boss sniffed at the air, and his face became pale as he looked towards the back door. He turned towards Nora and made to run past her, but she stood in his path and clenched her fists. Electricity coursed around her arms, her eyes taking on the slightest blue glow.

"That was the valkyries' job," she said. "Except sometimes a Valkyrie would come down to Remnant, find a warrior's soul, and she wouldn't take them up to heaven. They'd stay here, among the mortals, roaming the world together and punishing evildoers in the name of the innocent people they'd hurt."

The boss swallowed dry, his eyes widening with understanding. Nora chuckled.

"That's right. You're catching on. You're the evildoer, and I'm the valkyrie who's here to punish you. But that just leaves us with one question, doesn't it?" she said. "Just where the heck is my ghost?"

She waited a beat. Then another. A couple seconds turned into ten. The boss squirmed along the wall, but the more time that passed, the more confused he looked, rather than terrified.

"Come on, Ren! That was your cue!" Nora said. "You _promised_."

She heard a sigh beside her. Ren appeared, as if he'd always been there, his shoulders slumped from carrying a bulging suitcase in each hand.

"Behold and tremble. I am the fearsome warrior ghost," he said. " _Ooooh_. Repent."

The boss blinked twice, his jaw hanging open as he stared at the two of them.

"Repent!" Nora shouted, and thrust her arm out, shooting a bolt of electricity at him. He hit the wall hard, spasming madly for a few seconds, before he fell unconscious on the floor.

Nora walked over to the boss and poked his arm with her foot, happy to see he was limp as a noodle. She smiled, then hit herself in the forehead.

"Ah, crap! I forgot to warn him to stop recruiting kids or else we're gonna haunt him forever and blablabla-" Nora said. "I mean, I know I already told him once, but it can't hurt to reinforce the message, right?"

Ren looked at the unconscious man. "I think he got the message pretty clear, Nora."

"You think? I hope so, or else this was all for nothing," Nora said. "Anyway, did you do your thing in the back? Are all the material belongings this rascal holds dear to his heart burning in the flames of a giant bonfire?"

"It's a moderate fire. But yes." Ren held up the suitcases. "I grabbed the money, but it's not as much as we planned. I didn't want to leave you alone here too long."

"You didn't have to worry, I was all-the-way okay!" Nora said. She looked at the desk, and all the lien stacked on top of it. "Should we grab some of this to make up for it?"

"No time. We have to get out before the cops and the firefighters show up," Ren said.

"Aw, shucks. I was having so much fun, and it's over already," Nora said. "Hey, what if we woke up this guy and I taunted him a little? We've got time for that!"

Ren shook his head, and she sighed.

" _Okay_ ," Nora said, and offered him her hands. "Let's go."

He handed her one of the suitcases to hold, then took her free hand. She squeezed it, and felt a calm wash over her as they untethered from the world around them. She listened to his heartbeat – slow, distant – and smiled.

Maybe this had been over way too quick for her liking, but still… Another flawless job from the Valkyrie and the Ghost.

* * *

"Wow, Pyrrha. You really weren't kidding about your boyfriend's cooking," Mr. Nikos said, pushing his plate away from himself on the dinner table, and patted his belly. "You sure you're not a professional chef, Jaune? Could have fooled me."

Jaune rubbed the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly. "I've only been cooking for a couple years, sir. And this is, like, my best meal, and it took hours for me to make it. You wouldn't like the other stuff that much, I'm sure."

"Well, there's only way to know. You're going to have to cook for us again so I can make a complete evaluation of your skills," Mr. Nikos said. "But not today. I'm going to burst if I have another bite."

"Me too," Pyrrha said, sitting beside him. She lay down her silverware and smiled at Jaune. "The dish was excellent, Jaune. All the hard work was definitely worth it."

"Thank you!" Jaune said. "Don't count on me making it again for at least a month, though, 'cause I'm exhausted."

"You know, Pyrrha, you really should get him to teach you a thing or two about cooking," Mr. Nikos said. "You can't have him cook for you the rest of your life."

"I've considered joining Yang's cooking lessons, but with Jaune and Weiss both learning from her, I think she's at capacity already," Pyrrha said. "Anyway, I wouldn't want to step on his toes. Jaune's really proud of his cooking."

"I just really enjoy having a thing I can do, you know?" Jaune said. "Pyrrha's got a hundred different areas she's an expert in. If I can just feed her delicious meals, that makes us even in my mind."

"You do you," Mr. Nikos said. "I'm sure _she's_ not complaining. Right, sweetheart?"

He elbowed Pyrrha lightly, and she smiled at him and laughed. Jaune looked at the two of them, before he turned his eyes to his plate and forked what little remained of his food. The way Pyrrha smiled at her father, it wasn't in the same way she smiled at him or their teammates. It was certainly genuine, but… he felt like there was something lacking in it, he just didn't know quite what it was yet.

Jaune had been surprised when he'd finally met Mr. Nikos outside the house a couple hours ago. Without realizing it, Jaune had been picturing him as a super-athlete, and though Mr. Nikos still had some definition from his days as a Beacon agent, he was a full head shorter than his daughter, and he walked with a slight limp from his prosthetic right leg. He wore a thick pair of glasses he never took off, and his hair was brown, too – apparently Pyrrha had gotten her color from her mother, something she'd never told Jaune, but to be fair, he hadn't thought to ask either.

"This is going to be a lot of work to clean up," Pyrrha said, looking at the plates and pans stretched across the table. "Jaune, why don't I get a head start while you rest up?"

"I mean, I'm not gonna stop you from helping, but Pyrrha, your definition of a _head start_ is usually doing all the work yourself," Jaune said.

"You can dry everything once I'm done," Pyrrha said. "I promise I'll let you do that part."

"I'd offer to help, but I'm afraid I've got to get back on the road and back to Suisen," Mr. Nikos said. "I've got a bunch of meetings there tomorrow, and I want to check in at the hotel before it's too late."

"Are you sure you won't stay overnight?" Pyrrha said. "Driving at this hour can be so dangerous, and we really don't mind you taking the guest room."

"Well, of course. It's _my_ guest room, missy." Mr. Nikos chuckled. "But I'll be okay. I'm getting out of you kids' hairs as soon as possible. No one likes a party crasher."

He looked at Jaune and raised an eyebrow. Not knowing how to respond to that, Jaune elected to examine the prongs of his fork up close. Hmm, yes. Very interesting silverware. Impeccable craftsmanship.

"I'll be off, then," Mr. Nikos said, standing up. Pyrrha did the same, and started collecting the plates.

"You're not going to see him off?" Jaune asked, looking up at her.

Pyrrha paused for a moment, then looked at her father apologetically. "It's going to be a lot of washing."

"No worries, sweetheart," Mr. Nikos said. "Jaune can escort me."

Pyrrha went over to his side and kissed him on the cheek, then shuffled off to the kitchen. Jaune looked her way, worried about how fast she'd gone, but he figured it was something they could talk about later. He got up and joined Mr. Nikos, and they left through the front door. They walked over to his car, which he'd parked beside the house alongside Pyrrha's motorcycle.

"So," Mr. Nikos said, stopping beside the car and putting his hands in the pockets of his pants. "Was it as terrifying as you were expecting?"

Jaune blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Meeting your girlfriend's dad for the first time," Mr. Nikos said, smiling at his expression. "I went through that experience a few times myself in my time, and I remember it never got any less scary. I tried to make it easier on you, but I'm not sure it helped."

"Oh. No, it definitely helped, sir. I think?" Jaune said. "I liked meeting you. It was fun. And I'm glad you liked my food! I was worried you weren't going to."

"You know what they say, the fastest way into a man's heart is through his stomach. Very smart move from your part, Jaune," Mr. Nikos said. "And please, no _sirs._ Call me Peleus. Or Dad, if you want to, but maybe it's too soon for that."

"Definitely way too soon, sir," Jaune said. "I mean, uh… Peleus."

Mr. Nikos – Peleus – smiled at him and opened the car door. He leaned his elbow atop it and looked at Jaune.

"I like you, Jaune. Of course, who Pyrrha dates is entirely her choice, but I'm glad it's you," he said. "You're a good influence on her. I saw that tonight. The way she laughs, the stories she told… Even the language she uses. She's not the same girl she was a few years ago, that's for sure."

"That's… thank you," Jaune said. "She's been a good influence on me too, I think. She's definitely whipped me into shape!"

"I'm sure she has. But don't give her all the credit," Peleus said. "Being in love with someone can do wonders to a person. The way I see it, that's what makes human connections so special. But who we are without that special someone… That's more important than anything."

Jaune nodded. "I think I understand."

"You two are young," Peleus said. "Enjoy that time. Just don't lose sight of the future." He shook his head. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to get all wise on you. I know that can be annoying."

"That's okay, sir," Jaune said. "I appreciate the advice."

Peleus nodded and got inside the car, closing the door. Jaune stood beside it for a moment, before he leaned on the open window.

"Sir – Peleus, if you don't mind me asking," Jaune said. "Did something… Man, I don't know how to say this." He took a deep breath, considering his words. "I noticed Pyrrha acts a little… distant, towards you? And I don't think she's told me five things about you before today. Did something happen between you two?"

Peleus tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, looking past the windshield. The cricketing of insects surrounded them, broken occasionally by an ocean wave crashing on the beach not that far away.

"I suppose there's the fact that I sent her off to Beacon when she was seven years old," Peleus said.

"Oh. Yeah, I guess – I guess that was a thing that happened," Jaune said. "Was that… bad?"

"Bad? _That_ is something I've been debating all my life," Peleus said. "But if you mean if she resents me for it? Well, I'm probably the least reliable person to be answering that question, but I don't think so. She liked growing up in Beacon. She liked the work she did. At least that's what she's told me in the past."

"Yeah, she's told me the same stuff," Jaune said. "And I don't know, it's hard to tell it with her sometimes, especially when it's personal stuff… But I don't think she was lying."

"You'll have to ask her yourself," Peleus said. "I won't lie and say I don't notice the same thing, Jaune. Pyrrha's been that way since… I don't even remember when things changed. But I've accepted that's just the way our relationship is now. And despite that, I still love that girl with all my heart."

Jaune nodded. He looked back at the house. There was one question he'd been dying to ask since he'd known he would be meeting Pyrrha's father – a question he'd been wondering about since he'd first met her, actually. Maybe it was a question best forgotten, though.

"You're wondering why, if I love her so much, I sent her away," Peleus said.

Jaune whipped his head around to look at him. "What? Are you psychic?"

"No. I've just been expecting you to ask about that all night long," Peleus said. "Tell me, Jaune. Do you believe in destiny?"

Jaune whistled. "That's a _big_ question."

"It's an important one," Peleus said. He sat back and brought his right foot up onto the seat, and rolled back his pants to reveal the metal underneath it. "You know how I got this? Seventeen years ago, there was a big earthquake down south. It absolutely devastated a town not far from here, and I just so happened to be in the area. I was still an agent during that time, still married, Pyrrha had just turned four, and I had absolutely no business going anywhere near that mess. But I went and helped anyway."

He tapped his legs with his knuckles, smiling ruefully.

"There were a bunch of people trapped underneath a collapsed building. There was so much rubble stacked on top of them, they were going to need a whole team to get them out safely, and it needed to be done fast. So I volunteered to help," Peleus said. "We got everyone out safely, thankfully. But just as I'm getting the last woman out-" He brought his hand down on his thigh. " _Bam_. The whole thing came down in an instant, and I just managed to get out in time, except for my leg. It was… crushed. There was no saving it. So they had to amputate it."

"Damn," Jaune said. "I'm really sorry."

"It's alright. I've made my peace with it, but I was very bitter about it for a long, long time. I just couldn't understand why I was being punished for risking my own life to save others'," Peleus said. "But then I heard from that woman we saved, and she was so grateful that she was able to go back to her son and daughter. Three years later, the son graduated high school. Today he's a doctor, specialized in reconstructive surgery. And the daughter, last I heard she had just been accepted into her dream college. Business, I think."

"And if you hadn't been there, maybe none of that would have been possible," Jaune said. "You lost your leg, but you saved a life in return. Three lives, in a way. That's destiny?"

"Exactly," Peleus said. "And maybe it was destiny that Pyrrha was born special. That she was raised away from me, so she could help others. Maybe even so that, one day, she could meet you. And hasn't the whole world already been saved because of that?"

Jaune frowned. That was one way to see things. He wasn't sure he agreed, but he could see the wisdom in it.

"That's what I think, anyway. Maybe it's all nonsense I made up after the fact to make sense of the pain and the choices I've made," Peleus said. "But I don't regret sending Pyrrha away. She's become an amazing woman because of it, and she's happy. In the end, that's all that matters."

He turned on the engine, and Jaune backed away from the car.

"Now, I've really got to get going," Peleus said. "You be good to my daughter, you hear me?"

"Yes, sir, that's the plan!" Jaune said.

"Good." Peleus shrugged. "I'm cool, but I've still gotta do the tough dad routine. See you, Jaune. Tell Pyrrha I love her very much."

"Will do. Drive safely."

Jaune watched Peleus pull away from the house, then get on the road and drive away. He stayed outside for a moment, taking in the brisk night air, before he turned and walked back into the house.

In the kitchen, Pyrrha had already gotten through half the dirty dishes, and they were so clean he could see his own reflection in it. He knew he shouldn't be impressed, but he couldn't help but whistle anyway.

"Your dad's gone," he said, leaning on the counter beside her. "He says he loves you very much."

Pyrrha smiled in the middle of scrubbing a plate. "That's nice."

"He also said I need to be good to you, or else he'll bash my head in with a baseball bat," Jaune said.

Pyrrha stopped scrubbing for a second, a gasp escaping her lips, before she looked at him and rolled her eyes. "Well you don't have to worry about him. Just get him to meet your mom," she said. "She'll have him convinced we're engaged and expecting a child in no time."

If Jaune had been drinking anything, he would have spat it all over the floor. "Pyrrha! You can't say stuff like that, you'll give me a heart attack!"

"As a wise man once said, if you can't take it," Pyrrha said, "you shouldn't be _dishing it out_." She lifted the plate and shook it. "Get it? Because I'm-"

"-doing the dishes," Jaune said, scratching his forehead. "Wow, I really am some kind of influence on you. Not too sure it's the good kind."

Pyrrha grinned, evidently happy with her own joke.

"Hey, how about we leave the dishes for later?" Jaune said. "We should go to the beach. The water must be so nice right now!"

"Hmm… I don't know, Jaune," Pyrrha said, looking at the running water. "Didn't you say earlier that you were exhausted from making dinner?"

"Yes, but that's all the more reason for us to go for a swim! It'll be like physical therapy," Jaune said. " _Especially_ if I can see my beautiful girlfriend in a bikini."

"You don't know that it's a bikini," Pyrrha said. "…Alright, fine. I _suppose_ the dishes can wait until tomorrow. The crack of dawn." She paused. "As soon as I wake up."

Jaune shrugged. "I would expect nothing less."

* * *

Nora stepped out of the bathroom, the steam from the shower drifting from behind her into the motel room before it dissipated. She pulled her towel a little tighter around her chest, and sent a sly glance Ren's way. He was sitting at the one desk the motel supplied their room with, counting out the bills they'd swiped from the bad guys.

"Wow, that showersure was _soothing_ to my sensitive skin," Nora said, dragging every vowel out. "Golly, it was justwhat I needed after such an _exciting_ day. You know, all that pent-up _energy_ just begging to be _released_."

She leaned on the wall, stretching her arms above her, and threw him another look, this time making sure to slowly blink and flutter her eyelashes. It was useless, of course, because he didn't so much as glance in her direction.

"The only problem was reaching my _soft_ and _unblemished_ back. My arms just aren't long enough, ya know? And it does need such a _hard_ and _thorough_ scrubbing," Nora said. "If only there was some way I could do it myself… or someone else could…"

Ren aligned a pile of Lien to make a neat stack and set it aside, and finally, _finally_ , turned his head to face her. His eyes scanned her up and down, and Nora rose to the tip of her toes in excitement… before he turned back to the money and started counting it again.

"You're dripping on the carpet," he said.

Nora grit her teeth, raising her hands and curling her fingers in a strangling motion – which, obviously, he didn't see.

"Oh, something will be dripping alright, if you keep disrespecting me like that," she grumbled. "Fine! I'll put some clothes on. Not that you care either way."

She went over to her bag and pulled out her favorite white-and-pink t-shirt and shorts combo, and quickly threw them on. She rubbed her head with her towel to dry her hair a bit more, grinning at the electric sparks that flew from the static. When she was done, she tossed the towel aside and hopped over to Ren, putting her hands on his shoulders and leaning over him to look at the desk.

"So, how much did we score this time?" she asked.

"I haven't finished counting yet, but rough estimate, a little more over sixty thousand Lien," Ren said. "Like I said, I would have grabbed more, but I thought you were in trouble."

"And like I said, you don't ever have to be. Let's be real, I'm like a goddess of lightning and thunder. Or a queen. A goddess-queen!" Nora said. She bent down to kiss him on the cheek. "But it was very sweet of you, Renny-poo."

She walked over to the window, parting the blinders with her fingers to look out into the parking lot. There were a bunch of cars parked outside, but no more than she remembered when they'd checked in. And she couldn't see very far into the street, but there didn't appear to be any shifty persons sneaking about there either.

"Do you see anyone?" Ren said. "Police? Dumb goons looking for vengeance?"

"Nope. The coast is clear," Nora said, turning around. "So, have you started dividing the money yet?"

"I was going to finish counting it first, but you can start doing that if you want to," Ren said.

Nora grabbed a chair and sat down beside him, and started sliding the stacks Ren had already made over to her side of the desk.

"Okay, so, first. Three thousand for us so we don't starve to death," she said, setting aside one stack. "And then let's say we have sixty-thousand left. Five orphanages. So twelve thousand for each, then?"

"Yes, but don't forget to divide those again after that," Ren said. "We don't want to cause trouble by donating all the cash all at once. It brings the wrong kind of attention. I'd say, this much money… Divide it by four."

"Okay! Four donations of three thousand lien for each orphanage, then!" Nora said. "Hey, who would have thought. Math _is_ fun. I should do this part of the operation more often."

"You only think that right now because this is very simple division with a bunch of zeroes added after every number," Ren said. "Otherwise, you'd say math is boring and impossible."

"It _is_ boring and impossible," Nora said, "but it's fun when you do it with a friend!"

They continued their activity in silence, Ren counting the bills and arranging them in even amounts, while Nora took them and organized them for the donations they'd be making in the following weeks.

"Nora," Ren said as they got close to finishing, "do you ever think about what we're going to do after this is over?"

Nora looked at him, frowning. "What do you mean? When what is over?"

"This whole operation we do. Punishing crime lords, taking their money and giving it to people who actually need it. Probably the people they stole it from in the first place," Ren said. "This has got to end sometime, whether we want it or not."

"Has it gotta? I don't know, Ren, I think we could do this forever," Nora said. "Well, maybe not forever. Just until we're too old to move and we're put into retirement homes. Why, do you wanna stop?"

"No, it's just… I've been thinking about the effectiveness of it all," Ren said. "We can scare as many bad guys as we want, but I don't know if that's making any real difference in the long run."

"It makes a difference for the kids we're saving," Nora said. "Or are you saying we should just let them keep getting picked out by criminals on the streets?"

"No, that's not what I'm saying, Nora. We _are_ doing good." Ren sighed. "I just wonder if we could be doing more."

"Maybe you've got a point. There's probably a way we could help even more. And I'm sure you're going to figure that out someday!" she said. "Me, I'm not a thinking-ahead gal. I'm a help-as-much-as-I-can-in-the-moment gal. So as long as I can be helping someone, I'll keep doing it." She crossed her arms. "I can't stand people who take advantage of kids like that. I swear, if I could stuff all those jerks in a big box and drop them in the ocean, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But not before punching each one of them in the face!"

Nora looked at him for approval, and he nodded silently. Ren felt the same way as her, she knew it. He just wasn't quite as enthusiastic about it as she was. Getting a rise out of Ren was _very_ difficult. Actually, she couldn't remember the last time he'd raised his voice at anyone – and she knew she could be really annoying most of the time.

"You know, Ren, as long as we're talking about serious stuff…" Nora said, sliding a finger along the edge of the desk. "Next week is Kuroyuri Day. Fifteen years." She looked up at him, biting her lip. "Still feels like it happened just yesterday, doesn't it?"

Ren's shoulders dropped. "It really does."

"Yeah." Nora bowed her head. "Sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up. I know you don't like talking about it."

"No, it's fine. I… was actually thinking about it earlier today," Ren said. "There's going to be an event in Suisen on the anniversary. A kind of memorial service, to pay tribute to everyone we lost that day." He paused. "I was thinking we could go."

Nora raised her head, her lips parted in surprise. "Are you sure? I mean, I'm okay with going if you want to, but… isn't it gonna be painful for you?"

"I think it's _supposed_ to be painful," Ren said. "I'll be fine. I want to go."

"Okay, then we will! We take a bus there, it'll be cheap," Nora said. "And I'll be with you all the way, okay? So if you change your mind…"

"Thank you, Nora."

They worked for a couple more minutes until the last donation was arranged and secured in its envelope. Nora pushed her chair back and stood up, yawning for a good five seconds.

"Okay, I'm beat. Gonna go sleep now," Nora said. "Unless you want me to stay up with you?"

"No, it's fine," Ren said. "Just, one more thing, Nora. I've been meaning to tell you this for a long time now. Months, actually. I just didn't know how…"

Nora turned to him, her heart filling with hope once again.

"Valkyries," Ren said. "They're from Atlesian folklore, not Mistralian."

Nora stared at him, pouting.

"Sorry, I just thought you should know," Ren said. "Good night, Nora."

Nora sighed. "Good night, Ren."

* * *

The water was enjoyable. It was a little cold because of the hour, but they kept themselves warm by playing with each other. Apparently Pyrrha's training extended to underwater movement, because no matter how hard he tried, Jaune couldn't hope to catch her when she went under. And he was quickly reminded of how much of a competitive person she was when he splashed a little water on her face and got hit with a tsunami in retribution.

Eventually, however, the wind started to pick up, and no amount of movement was enough to stave off the cold it brought. They swam back to the beach, and sat on the sand side-by-side as they collected their breaths.

"See what a blast you can have when you stop being responsible for a minute?" Jaune said. "You should try doing that more often."

"I do that enough when I'm with you, you… bad influence you," Pyrrha said. "But I have to agree. That was fun."

She looked back at the house, her brow furrowing for just a moment, before she faced the ocean again and shook her head.

"What was that about?" Jaune asked.

"I was thinking about calling Ruby to check how they're handling work without us back home, but I'm sure they're doing just fine," Pyrrha said.

"You never take your mind off work, do you?" Jaune said, and she shrugged. "Well, at least you're better than Ruby in that way."

"Don't judge. She's just a very dedicated girl," Pyrrha said.

"I _like_ dedicated girls," Jaune said, smirking. Then he saw the way Pyrrha looked at him, and cleared his throat. "I didn't mean that like I'm interested in Ruby – it's just that _you're_ a very dedicated person and I like that about you – I'd never-"

"I know, Jaune." Pyrrha giggled. "I was just messing with you."

Jaune sighed. That's what he got for trying to be suave.

"Jaune, I'm really sorry," Pyrrha said. "I… haven't been entirely truthful with you lately."

Jaune looked at Pyrrha, surprised to find her hugging her legs while she stared at the ocean. He supposed with no one else nearby, she saw no reason to keep up her walls, but to see her vulnerable in that way wasn't something he was used to, even after all this time.

"Earlier today, when we were talking about my father. I wasn't all that worried about you meeting him," she said. "I think I was looking for an excuse for him not to come."

"Why? You don't like spending time with him?" Jaune said.

"No, it's not like that. I love him, but," Pyrrha said, "whenever we're together, I have this awful feeling of… guilt. I feel like I should love him more, and that I should miss him when he's gone. But I never do." She closed her eyes. "I'm starting to think there's something very wrong with me."

"Pyrrha, there's nothing wrong with you!" Jaune said. "You just grew up different. And it wasn't like you had any choice in it anyway. You were just a kid when they sent you to Beacon."

"But that's just the thing, Jaune! I'm not a kid anymore, and I look back at my life – I wonder about how I might be today if things had been different – and I don't even want that," Pyrrha said. "What kind of person doesn't want a normal life? You treasure your family so much, and Ruby and Yang go to visit their father all the time. Even Weiss makes a point of keeping contact with her family, and who could blame her if she didn't? And here I am, avoiding mine like they're poison."

Jaune tapped her hand and took it in his, squeezing it as he looked her in the eyes.

"Pyrrha, just because he's your father, doesn't mean you have to love him above everybody else. I mean, I love my parents and my sisters, but you know who I really consider my family?" he said. "It's you. And Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang. That's who I can't picture my life without."

"You really mean that?" Pyrrha said.

"Yeah! We're a crazy family, but come on, I couldn't ask for a better one!" Jaune said. "So you see, you're not as different as you think you are. You just took a lot longer to find your family, and I'm really sorry about that. But you've got all of us now."

Pyrrha smiled. She moved closer to him, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his shoulder.

"I didn't grow up _all_ alone," Pyrrha said. "There was Ozpin, at least. He was the closest thing to a father I had."

Jaune snorted. "Sorry. I'm just having a hard time picturing him as a father figure."

"He _is_ a bit eccentric, I suppose. But he made me feel special. Important. And he always made sure I was happy," Pyrrha said. "If I'd wanted to leave Beacon at any time, I think he would have allowed me."

"He didn't even argue when you left to join the team," Jaune said.

"Right," Pyrrha said. "I miss him."

"Well, I don't know how easy it is to get a personal visit with the Director of Beacon, but maybe we can see him sometime," Jaune said.

"That would be great," Pyrrha said. "But after this week. This vacation is just for us."

Jaune had no problems with that.

He felt something drip on the tip of his nose, and looked up to find dark clouds blocking the stars and the moon. He noticed that the wind was even stronger than when they'd been in the water – had they talked so long that they missed all of that?

There was a flash of lightning, and suddenly rain came pouring down on them. Jaune jumped up with a scream, and Pyrrha scrambled up to her feet beside him.

"Woah! I didn't know there was going to be a storm tonight!" Jaune said.

"It happens from time to time," Pyrrha said. "Looks like it's going to be a bad one, too."

Thunder boomed from miles away, yet Jaune felt his chest rumble as if it had struck just next to them.

"We should probably get back inside," he said, starting to turn, but Pyrrha grabbed his hand and stopped him. "Pyrrha? What are you doing?"

"Being irresponsible."

She pulled him to her, then shoved him down on the sand. He looked up, swallowing dry as she towered over him.

"I have very mixed feelings about this," Jaune said.

Smirking, Pyrrha lowered herself until she was straddling his lap. She captured his lips in a kiss, and for a moment the sounds of the storm faded away around them, before she pulled back, and pressed her forehead against his.

"I love you."

"I… love you too. A lot," Jaune said. "…And suddenly my feelings are no longer mixed."

Pyrrha laughed, and they kissed again as the storm poured down on them.

* * *

Ren's eyes snapped open. The room flashed white, then back to darkness. The howling wind rattled the windows and pushed against the door, straining its hinges.

But it hadn't been the storm that had awakened him. Moving his head, he realized his mouth hurt from how he had been gritting his teeth, and the bed sheets were nearly torn under his hands – as if he had been gripping them in his sleep.

He glared at the ceiling.

Why? Why was he so angry?

Somehow, he managed to close his eyes, and on his next breath, he activated his Semblance. It was tougher than usual, but over the next few seconds, the noise of the storm became a little bearable, and he slowly felt himself become calmer.

It was then that he heard Nora's crying.

He jumped out of his bed and rushed over to hers, nearly losing hold of his Semblance in the process. He kneeled on the ground and reached out to the quivering form under the covers, laying his hand where he imagined her shoulder was.

After a moment, the shivering lessened, and a hand raised the sheets. Nora stared at him from under them, her eyes wide and red with tears.

"R-Ren," she said between gasps. "I'm _scared_."

Ren took her hand. She was scared? The storm, of course. But-

"I can't stop shaking." Nora sobbed. "Sleep with me?"

He climbed onto the bed and hugged her. She pressed her head against his chest, breathing in and out shakily. He drew on his Semblance, letting it wash over her as well as himself.

In the distance, thunder rumbled, but it reached them as but a faint aftershock. The rattling of the door and the windows faded away. Lightning came and went unnoticed.

After a few minutes, Nora fell asleep, and Ren soon followed.

* * *

"I told you this was a bad idea, but you never listen to me! Now look where you got us!" the boy yelled.

"Why should I listen to you, boy?!" his father yelled back. "I've been fishing since before you were even born! What do you know?"

"I know enough not to go out fishing in a freaking storm!"

"The weather lady said clear skies! Clear skies! How is that my fault if she doesn't know what she's talking-"

A wave struck the boat, nearly turning it over and dropping them into the trashing ocean.

"Enough chatting!" his father said. "Get paddling if you don't wanna drown!"

"I _am_ paddling, old man!" the boy yelled, and turned the oar in his hands to get a better grip on it. "Worst birthday ever. I'm staying with Mom next year."

"I heard that!"

They paddled furiously, fighting the waves to move forward and keep the boat upright at the same time. The beach was not that far away, just a few minutes' paddling. If they could just keep up their strength, they would make it.

As they got close to the beach, the boat jumped a couple inches off the water, and landed back with a shudder.

"Dad?" the boy said. "I think something hit the boat."

"It was just the waves! Keep paddling!" his father yelled.

"But I didn't see any waves-"

Suddenly, the boat split between them, splinters flying everywhere. They fell in the water, the cold seeping into their bones.

The boy reached out for his father – but where was he? He looked around, and saw nothing in the murky expanses around him. Desperate, he turned himself around towards the surface, only to scream when he saw two red orbs staring him down from above.

He tried to swim away, but two clawed fingers stopped him in his tracks, burying into his chest before pulling back with a violent tug. Blood filled the water.

He closed his eyes, and the last thing he saw was a red glowing maw descending on him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's still January technically, okay?


	2. Clash

"Good morning."

Pyrrha mumbled into her pillow. "Morning."

"Someone's still sleepy," Jaune said. "You know it's almost ten, right?"

Was it? Pyrrha turned her head a little and opened one eye. Indeed, there was sunlight streaming in through the blinders, just enough for her to see Jaune sitting shirtless on the bed beside her. She admired his form for a moment, before she groaned and buried her face in her pillow again.

"Today's our last vacation day," Jaune said, poking her on the shoulder. "You got any plans for us?"

Pyrrha made a noise that she hoped he would correctly interpret as a _no_.

"Okay, so, you don't have any plans for today, _and_ you've got no problem lazying in bed way past sunrise," Jaune said. "Who are you and what did you do to my girlfriend?"

"I know, it's terrible. I'd feel guilty, but," Pyrrha said, "this bed's way too cozy."

"Fair point," Jaune said. "How about this – I'll go downstairs and make breakfast, then I'll bring it up so we can eat in bed. Eggs and bacon. Would that wake you up?"

Pyrrha sank into the mattress. "You're a gift."

She heard the bed shift as Jaune got up, then the sound of him walking away and going down the stairs. Rolling her shoulders, Pyrrha turned over and faced the ceiling, her eyes still closed.

The week had been perfect, even with the rain that had plagued almost every hour since their arrival. It wasn't like they'd had any elaborate outdoor activities planned before the trip, and they had been able to entertain each other well enough inside the cabin. And since the rain seemed to finally have abated while they slept, they might just be able to make up for the previous days today.

Pyrrha couldn't lie to herself, though. While she was a little sad that this was their last day, she also couldn't wait to get back to work. Maybe it was her upbringing, but she thought she'd never be able to fully enjoy any leisure time without getting antsy. She was aware of it enough that it hadn't spoiled their vacation, but after a week, she was ready to throw herself into the first hunt Ruby handed her.

Pyrrha sighed and rubbed her eyes. The day had barely started, and she was already thinking of tomorrow. She was truly hope-

Jaune yelled from downstairs. Pyrrha opened her eyes and sat up, fully awake in an instant. Kicking off the bedsheets, she jumped off the bed and stretched her hand to the side, catching her shield as it came flying to her grasp. She ran out of the bedroom and charged for the stairs, only to see Jaune scrambling up the stairs on all fours, clad only in the boxers he'd gone to sleep in.

"Jaune! What's happening? Are you hurt?" Pyrrha said

She pulled him over the last step, and he fell beside her, pale as a sheet.

"I'm okay, just-" Jaune gasped. "Downstairs."

Pyrrha raised her shield and took a step towards the stairs. "I'll take care of it."

"Don't!" Jaune grabbed her ankle. "It's Ozpin. He's in the kitchen."

Pyrrha blinked. Was she still dreaming? Or had she never woken up in the first place?

"Why… Why is he here?" Pyrrha said.

"I don't know! He'll probably tell us," Jaune said. "After we, you know, put on some clothes."

Pyrrha looked at his boxers, then down at herself. She pulled her shield flush against her chest, feeling her cheeks burn, and slowly edged back into the bedroom. "Good thinking."

Jaune followed her, and they quickly got dressed without saying a word or so much as glancing at each other. When she was done, Pyrrha went into the bathroom for a quick second to splash some water on her face, then joined Jaune again, and they went down the stairs together.

Pyrrha saw Ozpin as soon as she got to the bottom of the stairs. He was in the living room, sitting at the dinner table with one leg over the other while intently reading a _Men and Women's Fashion and Health_ magazine. In his other hand he held a mug, and from the steam coming off of it, Pyrrha guessed it was coffee he was drinking – not that she needed any clues to really figure that one out. His cane rested against the side of his chair, shortened to half its full length.

"Good morning, you two," Ozpin said, lowering his magazine to look at them. "My apologies for the interruption."

"You didn't interrupt anything. We were literally just…" Jaune cleared his throat. "Waking up. Really."

"Yes, that's what I imagined. And it was terribly rude of me to expedite that process," Ozpin said. He took a sip of his coffee, then nodded at Pyrrha. "Pyrrha."

"Director. This is a surprise," Pyrrha said. "It's good to see you. It's been too long."

"I feel just the same," Ozpin said. "I hope you won't mind my borrowing one of your mugs. I just found it inside one of the cabinets and I was captivated by it." He turned the mug a little to show a butterfly engraving at the other side of it. "Beautiful craftsmanship. I wish I could take it home."

"You can keep it," Pyrrha said. "No one's been using it anyway."

"Thank you. One more for the collection."

Ozpin set his mug and magazine down, a slight smile on his lips. Pyrrha sat down at the head of the table next to him, and looked to Jaune. He stared at Ozpin for a moment, then shrugged and sat opposite from him.

"I heard you were on vacation. Commemorating one year together, are you?" Ozpin said. "I hope you've enjoyed it. Love is always worth celebrating. It might not be one of life's _simpler_ joys, but it's certainly one of its greatest."

"It's been great. We've had a lot of fun not fighting monsters to the death for a little while," Jaune said. "Except for the rain, I guess. That kinda sucked."

"Ah, yes. The weather has been dreadful. I haven't been able to escape it myself, and I've been all over the country this past week," Ozpin said.

"So close to Kuroyuri Day, too," Pyrrha said.

"Indeed. Fate can have a cruel sense of humor sometimes," Ozpin said. "But the rain seems to have stopped precisely today, so perhaps we should give fate more credit."

Pyrrha nodded. She noticed Jaune had his brow furrowed as he stared at the two of them, as if he didn't quite grasp what they were talking about. She turned to him to explain, but Ozpin spoke before he could.

"But enough idle chatter," he said. "You're surely thinking I didn't come here just to catch up. Correct?"

Pyrrha smiled guiltily. "You're not one for frivolous visits, sir."

"Oh, I do enjoy my frivolities a great deal. I'd live a life full of them if I could. Alas, my schedule is perpetually busy," Ozpin said. "To cut to the chase, I have a matter that needs solving, and I think you two are just the people to take on the job."

He reached inside his vest and took out an envelope, and slid it over to Pyrrha. She took it in her hands but didn't open it, choosing to listen to the rest of what the Director had to say first.

"Inside you'll find files on two individuals," Ozpin said. "One Nora Valkyrie, and one Lie Ren. Twenty and twenty-one years old respectively. They both have unlocked Semblances, and together they've evaded Beacon for years." He grabbed his mug again and took another sip. "I'd like you to find them and finally bring them in."

"Bring them in?" Jaune said. "You mean like, capture them?"

"If necessary," Ozpin said. "I encourage you to try diplomacy first, of course, but I'm not so optimistic you'll succeed where every agent before you has failed."

Pyrrha opened the envelope and took out the files. The first detailed Valkyrie – plain face, blue eyes, orange hair. The hair would be the thing to watch out, as it wasn't a color commonly found in Mistral. Ren would be more easily identified – his black hair came down to the middle of his back, with a bright pink streak running down its left side. If the two stayed together, Pyrrha would have no trouble picking them out from a crowd.

"Valkyrie," she said. "She's got some sort of electricity Semblance?"

"To put it in simple terms, she can absorb electric energy and convert into physical strength. She's also been observed to _release_ said absorbed energy, though how adept she is at controlling that aspect of her Semblance is yet to be determined," Ozpin said. "You should be careful with her. You know your Auras aren't as effective when protecting you from electrocution. Even you, Mister Arc, with your abundance of Aura, should be wary not to incur her wrath."

"I wasn't planning on doing that, sir," Jaune said.

"The good news is, she doesn't seem capable of generating electricity by herself," Ozpin said. "I am sure you'll find out the specifics once you engage her."

"We'll be careful," Pyrrha said. "And Ren. His Semblance is… inconclusive?"

"We haven't been able to observe it closely, but he's the reason they've been able to evade capture for so long," Ozpin said. "Invisibility, phasing. Short-range teleportation. The theories are varied. Regardless, once you grab hold of him, I recommend you not let go."

Pyrrha looked at the files. Bringing in two Semblance users, one whose powers were uncertain, would be tricky at best. But with the right planning, and with her and Jaune working together, she was sure they could do it.

"Sorry, I'm still stuck on the _capture_ part," Jaune said, raising a hand. "Why do these two need to be brought in? Just because they have Semblances?"

"Not at all," Ozpin said, "though we would take the chance to verify they're not a danger to themselves and to others."

"Then why?" Jaune said.

"Because over the last couple of years, Valkyrie and Ren have taken to attacking and stealing from crime gangs," Ozpin said. "Now, I have no sympathy for their targets, but that doesn't mean these acts of vigilante justice should be ignored."

He gestured emphatically at Pyrrha and Jaune.

"When Miss Rose started crimefighting in her hometown, Commander Goodwitch kept track of her activities. Eventually they interfaced, and once we were certain Miss Rose was no bad agent, we gave her no further problems. After some time, she even came to work for us," Ozpin said. "The situation is the same here, except Valkyrie and Ren are unwilling to communicate civilly, so some modicum of force is required for us to arrive at a peaceful solution."

Jaune crossed his arms. "I guess that makes sense," he said. "Well, if these guys are as dangerous as they sound, and you're gonna send people after them anyway, I guess we could do you a favor and take on the job. How do you feel about it, Pyrrha?"

"We'll do it," Pyrrha said.

"Thank you," Ozpin said. "Consider this mission time-sensitive, as I'd like to have them in custody before they can strike again. You'll find all the info you need to track them down in those files."

He stood up, grabbing his cane and extending it to lean on it.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I've fallen behind schedule," Ozpin said. "Have a good rest of your vacation."

He turned and walked out of the cabin through the front door, which apparently he had unlocked on his way in. Pyrrha was not at all surprised.

"Oh, Jaune. I forgot we're still on vacation, technically," Pyrrha said. "Should we wait until tomorrow to start the mission?"

"Nah, it's fine. I know you're itching for some action," Jaune said. "Besides, what would we do, stay cooped up inside for the seventh day in a row?"

"I suppose you're right," Pyrrha said. "Well, we ought to get going."

She stood up, grabbing the files and putting them back into the envelope. Jaune looked up at her, confused.

"Wait, we're going already? Where even?" he said.

"Suisen. It's a two-hour drive there. One and a half, if you don't mind me pushing the speed limit a little," Pyrrha said. She tapped the envelope. "It says here they bought a bus ticket to Suisen last Sunday. They should have arrived this morning, so if we're fast, we might be able to catch them before the end of the day."

"Okay, but even if we know they're in Suisen, how are we gonna find them?" Jaune said.

"It's not that big of a town, and we've got our resources," Pyrrha said. "Besides, I have a hunch on why they're there today."

* * *

"You're still sure about this?" Nora said, clutching Ren's arm. "You don't need to go through with this just because we came all this way. It's okay if you wanna walk away from this!"

Ren smiled at her. "Thank you, Nora. I'll be fine."

"Okay. But remember what I said earlier," Nora said. "If you change your mind or you start freaking out or anything, I'll carry you out of here in my arms if I have to, got it?"

"Yes," Ren said. "And I'll do the same for you."

Nora winced. Why did Ren have to be so damn perceptive all the time? Well, not all the time. He could be really dense when it most annoyed her.

She clutched his arm a little tighter, and they crossed the street. Though the memorial service would only be starting in a couple hours, there were already quite a few people milling about the plaza. A mellow silence permeated the space, made all the more impressive by the fact that it was located in the middle of the town's busiest neighborhood. No one wanted to be disrespectful to the dead, or to those paying tribute to them.

Three monuments stood in a triangle at the center of the plaza, spaced ten meters apart from each other. Already their bases were covered in bouquets of flowers and family trinkets. Nora and Ren approached the leftmost one, and waited for a family to finish paying their respects before walking over to it.

They stood together for a few seconds, before Ren took Nora's arm off of his and kneeled before the monument. He closed his eyes and bowed his head, and Nora backed away slightly, letting him have his moment.

As she waited, Nora gazed at the stone, wincing with every name she saw engraved on its surface. She could never forget the magnitude of the tragedy fifteen years ago - how could she, when it was always lurking at the back of her mind? - but the sheer quantity of people… And then to think each of them had their own families they'd left behind, parents and children and siblings and spouses… It was almost enough to make her curl into a ball and cry.

But she couldn't let herself think about that too long. For her own sake, and for Ren's. She had to stay strong for him - she was all he had left. And he was all _she_ had left. They had to be strong for each other.

Ren stood up and took her hand, and Nora leaned her head on his shoulder. She hadn't found _their_ names yet, but maybe that was for the best.

"Maybe we should have bought flowers for them," Nora said. "Your mom liked flowers, right?"

"She had a garden," Ren said, a slight shake to his voice. "I don't remember what she used to grow, though."

"We should buy every kind we can find, then!" Nora said. "I know we're not supposed to splurge with our money, but this is a worthy cause, right?"

"Hmm. I'll take that into consideration," Ren said.

Nora scanned the monument again. There they were. _Li Ren_ and _An Ren_ , side by side _._ She looked away.

"Do you think they're watching over you?" Nora said.

"Maybe. Maybe not," Ren said. "I think there's a part of me that's with them up there, so they might not feel the need."

"Ugh. I get it, but I hate it when you say stuff like that," Nora said.

"Sorry," Ren said. "We should give these other people their space."

They walked away from the monument.

"I guess we can't stay for the service, huh?" Nora said.

"Too many eyes," Ren said. "You mentioned splurging. How do you feel about getting pancakes for lunch?"

"Pancakes for lunch?! I'm in!" Nora yelled, and flinched as half the people in the plaza turned to glare at her. "Sorry, sorry!" She looked at Ren, cringing. "Uhm… Yep, I'm in…"

Ren shook his head. "I thought so. Let's find a place-"

"Oh, I already know the place. I know _all_ the best pancake places in town," Nora said, and leaned in to whisper to him, "I did my research in advance."

"That is impressive," Ren said, "and not at all surprising. Lead the way."

"Sure thing. I think it's just three blocks from here," Nora said. "By the way, I researched more than pancake places before we got on the bus. You know that there's a pretty big orphanage here? Maybe we could pay it a visit and see if it's a good place to, ya know, _donate to_?"

"That's very forward-thinking of you, Nora. I'm proud," Ren said, patting her on the shoulder, which only made her blush a little bitty bit. "I think it's a great idea. Let's go there after lunch."

"Awesome! First, we eat the pancakes," Nora said, "then, we save the children!"

Ren let go of her. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Nora."

"We save the children!" Nora exclaimed, and marched off triumphantly.

* * *

Pyrrha pulled up onto the sidewalk and parked her bike. She took off her helmet and got up without a hitch, but Jaune didn't move nearly as fast. He removed his own helmet and held it on his lap, taking deep breaths while his stomach settled.

"Good, we're on time," Pyrrha said, checking her Scroll. "The plaza's just two blocks from here. We should hurry and-" She looked at him and stopped. "Jaune?"

"I'm fine. Just give me a moment," Jaune said, rubbing his belly. "When you said pushing the speed limit, you really meant more like, shoving it in a locker and taking its lunch money, didn't you?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I was so focused on getting here fast, I forgot you're not used to that kind of speed," Pyrrha said.

"Don't worry about it. I… admire your commitment to the mission," Jaune said. "I think I'll be okay now. Where are we going again?"

"You'll see. Come on."

Jaune got up and followed Pyrrha. They walked two blocks and turned a corner, and stopped there. At the other side of the road Jaune saw a town plaza filled with people, all standing silently in rows and with their heads bowed. Three stone monuments stood at the center of the square.

"That's a lot of people," Jaune said, leaning over to whisper in Pyrrha's ear. He knew they were on the other side of the road, but he still felt he ought to be respectful. "You think they're somewhere in there?"

"That's my guess," Pyrrha said.

"Should we go in the crowd and look for them?" Jaune said.

"No, let's watch from here," Pyrrha said. "We'll see if they're there when the crowd disperses at the end of the service."

Jaune gave no argument. Any idea that didn't involve intruding on peoples' grieving time was a good idea in his mind.

"So, this is in honor of Kuroyuri?" Jaune asked, and Pyrrha nodded. "Should I know what Kuroyuri is?"

Pyrrha blinked and looked at him. "You grew up in Vale, so I suppose there's no reason you would have to know," Pyrrha said. "Kuroyuri is Suisen's sister town. Or it used to be. It was devastated fifteen years ago."

"Wait. No, I think I've read about this, actually," Jaune said, snapping his fingers. "Wasn't that the town that got wiped out by a thunderstorm or something?"

"You're not wrong, but there was more to it than just a thunderstorm. It alone was already terrible, but the situation turned into a disaster when lightning struck a Dust and fuel repository," Pyrrha said. "They never should have kept that much volatile material in one place. The explosion destroyed sixty percent of the town, and killed everyone caught in it. Five hundred and thirty-six people died that day."

"Damn." Jaune shook his head. "That's… awful. Did you know anyone that…?"

"No. I was just six when it happened, but I remember it so clearly. It was like the whole country stopped for a week," Pyrrha said. "I suppose I was lucky I didn't lose anyone close to me. I don't know how you move on from a tragedy like that."

She reached into her bag and took out the files Ozpin had given them, and handed them to Jaune.

"Lie Ren had family there," Pyrrha said. "His parents were among the victims."

Jaune felt his stomach drop. Well, this just made him all the more eager to catch the guy, didn't it?

"And you figure he and the Valkyrie girl came here because of the service?" Jaune said.

"They were up north, past Haven, just last week, and they came straight here. If they're not here for the service, they must have some other goal in town," Pyrrha said.

Jaune opened Ren's file and read it over. There was a lot of information in there, from trivial stuff to, well, dead parents. When Beacon was interested in someone, they were _really_ interested in someone.

"I don't see them," Pyrrha said, clucking her tongue.

Jaune looked up from the file and saw the crowd was dispersing, and indeed, he saw neither of their targets walking away. He supposed he could just be missing them, but Pyrrha was looking as well, and she was way better of a lookout than he was.

"That's fine. It was just a hunch," Pyrrha said. "We can still track them down from here."

"Actually, I might have an idea," Jaune said. "It says here that they've made a bunch of donations to the orphanage they grew up in. You know, with the money they've robbed from criminals."

Pyrrha leaned over to look at the file. "And?"

"I guess it'd make sense that they'd want to give money back to the place that raised them. But they've also made donations to at least two other orphanages across the country," Jaune said. "So maybe it's not a giving-back type of deal and more of a… supporting fellow orphans deal."

"And you think they might be making a donation here in Suisen," Pyrrha said, taking out her Scroll. "That's a good starting point. We can look up any orphanages in the area and check if they're there. Great thinking, Jaune."

"Well, you know me." Jaune shrugged half-heartedly. "I'm always excited to track down some orphans..."

* * *

Nora skipped up the steps towards the orphanage, giving the building an once-over as she approached the front door. It didn't look at all impressive from the outside. _Shabby_ was the right word for it, she thought. But then again, the same could be said of her and Ren's orphanage, and they'd grown up to be well-adjusted adults. Mostly.

She reached the entrance and went inside, holding the door open for a few seconds to let Ren walk in after her. While untethered, he was unable to touch or grab things, not without appearing out of thin air and scaring the life out of everyone around him. Otherwise, they would have snuck into the place together without anyone ever knowing they had been there. As it was, they had to get creative.

Lucky for her, Nora _liked_ getting creative.

She looked around the entrance area, a tiny room that looked just as unimpressive at the building's exterior. There was a reception desk with a woman sitting behind it, looking just about ready to fall dead from boredom. There was a door behind her, probably leading to some administrative area, and then another door on the left wall, which could only lead to the rest of the orphanage.

Target acquired, Nora walked over to the reception desk and leaned on it. "Hello," she said. "I'm looking to give away a child."

The receptionist stopped what she was doing – which looked to be nothing – and looked up at Nora. "Excuse me. Did you say you're… looking to give away a child?"

"Yes, ma'am. A healthy, two-legged child," Nora said. "My child."

The receptionist looked down at her desk. She grabbed a pen, clicked it twice, then looked at Nora again. "I see. And how old is this, uh, child?"

"Oh, he's like… six. Seven. I don't remember exactly," Nora said. "He's not actually _my_ son, that's just a form of expression. He's my sister's."

The receptionist's eyebrows threatened to fly off her forehead. "You're trying to give away your sister's child?"

"Well, she's dead now," Nora said. "She and her husband died in a car accident two months ago. It was very tragic."

The receptionist rose from her chair, a string of condolences and apologies flying out of her mouth. Somewhere nearby, Ren was no doubt bemoaning the complexity of Nora's cover story. _Go simpler_ , he always argued. He just didn't get that this was as important part of the vetting process as any.

"Oh, you must be so devastated. Poor thing… And the kid, as well," the receptionist said.

"It's difficult, but I'm trying to deal day-by-day," Nora said, pretending to wipe a tear from her eye. "She said she wanted me to raise her son before she died in the hospital, you know, but I just don't think I can do it. I'm way too young to be a mother! And he doesn't have any other family to go to, so…"

"I understand. There is no need to feel ashamed," the receptionist said. "There are resources to help you through this process, if you'd like me to guide you through some of-"

"It's okay, I've read those resources. All of them," Nora said. "I was wondering if I could maybe get a tour of the facility? I just want to make sure my nephew ends up in a good place."

The receptionist bit her lip. "I suppose I could show you around the place…"

"Don't you need to stay here? What if someone shows up while you're gone?" Nora said.

"We won't be gone twenty minutes, I'm sure," the receptionist said. "To be honest, we are a little understaffed at the present. I don't just work the desk, I also take care of the children sometimes and I teach them math every Tuesday and Thursday. But they're still treated very well despite our difficulties, I assure you!"

Well, those were some mixed signs. Hopefully this lady was working so much because she actually cared, and not just because she was desperate.

"Okay, if you don't mind showing me around…" Nora said.

"Of course. Right this way," the receptionist said, walking around the desk and going over to the door to the left. "The name's Eliza, by the way."

"Nora."

Eliza opened the door. "And the little one's name?"

"Bothaniel."

Eliza looked back at her, not saying a word. It gave plenty of time for Ren to pass by and get a head start on looking around the place.

"I know, I know." Nora sighed. "My brother-in-law _really_ liked plants."

"Well, that's just fine," Eliza said. "We have a strict policy against bullying here. We'll make sure your nephew doesn't get teased because of his name."

Nora nodded. She was sure the woman meant what she said, but kids will be kids. They bully each other regardless of how often adults chide them, because of their names or any other reason. Bothaniel was fated to a childhood of getting bullied and bullying his aggressors right back.

You know, _if_ Bothaniel existed. Which he didn't.

"These are the classrooms," Eliza said as they walked down a hallway and passed two doors. "I'd show you inside, but they're being used right now. Right this way is the lunch room…"

Eliza showed her around the place, telling Nora about how they used each room and answering questions when prompted. As she listened, Nora made sure to keep an eye out for every tiny detail of their surroundings. She knew it was unlikely she'd just stumble upon something nefarious, but it never hurt to pay attention.

The biggest thing she was taking away from the tour was that the orphanage really was struggling. It had the look of a place that was just barely being maintained, probably to the best efforts of the ones in charge. In that way, it reminded her of her orphanage. It had the same atmosphere, too, that dreary feeling you just can't shake. She'd found that was a common thing among all orphanages – which was really sad, considering those were places meant specifically for kids.

"Up this way are the bedrooms," Eliza said, pointing at a staircase that went up into a second floor. "I don't think the kids would like if I showed their rooms to a stranger, but if we can ask one of them for permission and come back later, if you want."

"That's okay, I don't need to look there." The bedrooms would be the first place Ren would have looked, but Nora didn't say that. "Does each kid get their own bedroom?"

"That'd be ideal, but..." Eliza said with a little sigh. "We've got around twenty kids at a time here, and there's just not enough space for them to each have their individual rooms, so they have to share. It's not all terrible, though. Some of the kids like it, I imagine because it enables a lot of mischief."

Oh yeah. A bunch of kids living together in cramped spaces? No wonder the building was in shambles.

They left the stairs, coming to the last spot in the tour, the courtyard behind the building. Nora was happy to find that, at least, was as spacious as it should be. And it was there she finally saw kids. The ones not busy with classes, she assumed. Little ones and older ones, boys and girls, some playing together, others spending time by themselves.

She tried to keep her throat from getting all itchy. _Geesh_. It was always this part that got to her.

"Can I ask how often kids get picked up by new parents?" Nora said.

"It depends. Some are brought to us and are gone within weeks. Typically the younger ones," Eliza said. "But the older ones… Those are the ones that have the hardest time getting chosen. Some of them have been with us for years. Hell, I've seen many of them reach adulthood and set off on their own in my time here."

"Yeah, I heard it was like that…" Nora said, scratching the back of her hand. "But some do get adopted?"

"Yes! It's hard in a town the size of Suisen, but we're always reaching out to folks, and we're always ecstatic when a kid gets taken in by new parents," Eliza said. She turned and put a hand on Nora's shoulder. "Here's the thing. This is just a temporary home for these kids. For some of them, it's less temporary than others. But if you choose to entrust us with your nephew, he will have the _best_ temporary home, I promise you."

Nora tried to say something in response, but her voice came out like a croak. She rubbed her eye, wiping a not-so-fake tear this time, and smiled at the nice woman.

"Sorry, I just got kinda emotional thinking about lil' Bothaniel, I guess," she said. "Thank you for showing me around the place."

"Of course. It was my pleasure."

Eliza took her back to the entrance. Hopefully Ren was following them, or he'd made his way back already.

When they reached the reception, Nora noticed two new arrivals. A young couple, a tall redheaded woman and a blond man even taller than she was. They were standing near the desk, reading the brochures. The man turned to look, and Nora waved at him. He waved back, smiling easily, before his eyes widened and he turned back to his girlfriend.

Nora shrugged. She'd be jittery too if she were dating an amazon.

"So, what did you think?" Eliza asked, closing the door behind her.

"The place is pretty nice!" Nora said. "But, uhm, I think I'll go home and take some time to think before making a decision. Is that okay?"

"Absolutely! And don't hesitate to call if you have any more questions," Eliza said.

"Thank you!"

Nora walked to the door. She held it open for Ren, then left the orphanage.

* * *

"Pyrrha!" Jaune whispered, shaking her arm. "Did you see? That was-"

"Hello!" The woman that had arrived with Valkyrie walked behind the desk and smiled at them. "Can I help you?"

"Thank you, we're just browsing," Jaune said in reflex.

The woman blinked at him.

"Excuse us for a second," Jaune said, and dragged Pyrrha over to a corner of the room. "Did you see? I think that was Nora Valkyrie just now!"

"Yes, I saw her too," Pyrrha said, lowering the brochure she'd taken from the reception. "I was trying to be subtle."

"Oh, right. That's important."

Jaune looked back at the woman, who seemed to be giving them no attention as she mouthed a name again and again. Nathaniel or something? He wasn't good at reading lips.

"Okay, so what do we do now?" Jaune said to Pyrrha. "Do we chase after her? I guess we should have planned what to do once we found her, but I didn't think it was going to happen so fast!"

"First off, slow down. There's no need to panic or rush into a decision," Pyrrha said. "Let's think. Our mission is to bring them to Beacon, one way or another. How do we do that?"

"We read her her rights and put some handcuffs on her?" Jaune said. "We didn't bring handcuffs, did we?"

"We don't treat her as hostile until she gives us a reason to," Pyrrha said. "She's not with her partner. She doesn't know who we are. We can approach her as civilians, try to talk her into coming with us willingly."

"Didn't Ozpin say that's been tried before numerous times?" Jaune said.

"He did," Pyrrha said. "So I suppose we should be prepared for the worst. You'll have my back?"

Jaune stared at Pyrrha, at the determined look in her eyes, that slightly furrowed brow as she thought out every angle of the coming confrontation. Like she was a Beacon agent again, the best of the best.

He looked at the door. He reallydidn't want to fight a girl who beat up bad guys and gave all their money to orphans. He'd rather just leave her alone.

But they were here now, and with Pyrrha all ready for action, he supposed there was no changing tracks at this point.

"Yeah," he said. "I've got your back."

* * *

Ren waited for Nora at the bottom of the stairs outside the orphanage. He looked around to make sure no one was looking their way, and deactivated his Semblance. She smiled at him, not surprised to find him standing there all of a sudden.

"So, what did you think? Did you get a good look at the place?" Nora asked.

"I did. It's… adequate. The place clearly needs more funding," Ren said. "I took a look at the kids' rooms. They're not very big, but it seems like they've all got plenty personal belongings."

"Toys and stuff like that? That's a really good sign, Ren!" Nora said. "You know, I only talked to that one woman, but I got the feeling she really does care about the kids. And if that's the general vibe in there, then maybe… Maybe this is actually another orphanage to add to the donation list?"

She was excited, but also skeptical, and Ren didn't blame her. They had visited a great number of orphanages in the past, but just a handful of them had been up to their standards. Most places had people working in them that just didn't care at all about the kids in their care, and giving them additional funding wouldn't improve that situation in the slightest. It might even make it worse for the kids in the long run.

"I think this is a good start, but we should do more research on it later," Ren said. "We could try and find someone who got adopted from here. Maybe they'll be open to sharing how their experience was living in the orphanage."

"Yes!" Nora exclaimed. "Let me tell you, Ren, I've got a good feeling about this one… I'm all giddy!"

Ren grinned at her, and looked past her, towards the top of the stairs. The couple from before had come out of the orphanage, and were now coming down the steps directly their way. The redhead saw him looking and waved a hand, while her boyfriend kept quiet beside her.

"Hello!" the redhead said. "I'm sorry, I hope we're not interrupting anything?"

"Oh, hi! Nope, we weren't talking about anything important," Nora said. "Hey, weren't you inside there just now? Let me guess – you're also looking to give away your tragically orphaned nephew?"

"No, that's... not the case. We're actually looking to adopt!" the redhead said, and nudged her boyfriend with her elbow. "Right, honey?"

"Yes! Totally!" the boyfriend said, perking up. "I'm very much looking forward to having a child with this woman!"

The redhead giggled as she patted him on the arm. "He's nervous about the whole thing, poor dear."

"Totally understandable!" Nora said, and leaned forward to whisper to the other woman – which both Ren and the boyfriend were still able to hear clear as day. "Between you and me, have you tried the, ya know, _natural way_? Wink wink."

The redhead gawked at Nora, but to her credit, she recovered fast. "Yes. We have… done that already. Many times, in fact." She cleared her throat. "But we're not ready to have a child that way just yet. If that makes any sense?"

"Sure. No judgment here. I think about getting a big belly myself and I start sweating cold!" Nora said. "Not that I have anyone to _give me_ a big belly anyway…"

She glared Ren's way, but he gave her no mind, focusing instead on the other couple. There was something about their faces. He was sure he recognized them from somewhere, he just didn't remember where. And he didn't like the nervous looks the boyfriend was giving them.

"Anyway, am I right that you were having a tour of the place?" the redhead said. "How was it?"

"It was nice. Kinda falling apart at places, but that's kinda the norm with orphanages if you ask me – not that I know anything about orphanages!" Nora said. "But why are you asking? What does it matter if the place you're adopting from is nice?"

"Well, it's a delicate process, and we want to make sure the establishment we're going with is a reputable one," the redhead said. "We're probably worrying too much, I know."

"No judgement!" Nora said. "And hey, I know you're a little on the young side, but maybe if you could consider taking in a kid that's, like, eight or nine years old, instead of a baby, that'd be-"

"Nora." Ren took her hand and pulled her back. "They're not adopting anyone."

She punched him in the arm. "Ren! That's so rude! What's gotten into you?"

"Look at them," Ren said. "Don't you recognize them from the news?"

Nora's eyes widened as she looked at the two strangers. "You're right! They're those hero folks. I'm a big fan!"

"Except they just came to us out of nowhere," Ren said, "which means they're working with Beacon."

Nora drew back, her shoulders tensing as she glared at the strangers. The couple looked at each other, the redhead giving a resigned sigh.

"I guess undercover stops working when you become famous," she said. "He's right. I'm Pyrrha Nikos, and this is Jaune Arc. And yes, we are working with Beacon."

"I knew it!" Nora shouted. "No way two gorgeous young people like you are together andlooking to have a child without doing the hanky-panky!"

"We actually are together," Jaune said, raising a hand timidly. "But yeah, the adoption story was a lie."

"Look, we need to bring you in to Beacon, but there's no need for us to fight," Pyrrha said. "Come with us, and I promise to make sure you are treated well."

"Because that's _such_ a comfort. I'm sure no one's gonna probe us with needles or wash our brains with alien juice if _you're_ looking out for us," Nora said, and raised her fists before her. "Try me, hag! I'll kick your butt into oblivion!"

Pyrrha looked at her hands, unphased. "You're threatening us. Noted."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Jaune said, getting in the middle of them. "No one's gonna kick anyone's butt today, got it? Look, we know you've run from Beacon before, and we know you're like, vigilantes or whatever, but you're not in trouble. We understand that you had good intentions-"

"Oh yeah, we had good intentions? Like _you_ have good intentions?" Nora said. "How gullible do you think we are?!"

A moment of silence passed.

"Did she just…" Pyrrha leaned over to Jaune. "…incriminate herself?"

"In a very convoluted way, yeah, she kinda did," Jaune said.

"No, I did not! You're putting words in my mouth!" Nora shouted.

"Nora, you kinda did," Ren said. "Let's just leave, okay?"

He made to grab her wrist, but she shook him off and stepped up to Pyrrha, raising her chin to stare her down – or stare her _up_ , Ren supposed.

"Listen. I am sick and tired of you suits hunting us down like we're the bad guys," Nora said. " _We're_ not the bad guys. We beat up the bad guys. But that doesn't matter to you people, 'cause you just treat us like we're the scum of the earth!" She pointed a finger at Pyrrha's nose. "Well, that stops now! The next time one of you tries to bag us, they're not gonna leave with just a little shock, you hear me?"

A spark arced around her finger and jumped off, snapping on Pyrrha's forehead. Pyrrha's eyes narrowed.

"I think I've heard enough," Pyrrha said, and grabbed Nora's hand.

 _Oh no_ , Ren tried to say, but it was already too late. With a furious yell, Nora brought her other hand up and thrust it against Pyrrha's chest. Sparks flew from the point of contact, and Pyrrha went flying. She crashed against the steps behind her, arching her back as she yelled in pain.

"Get the freaking message!" Nora shouted.

"Oookay," Ren said, inching over to Nora. "Let's go now."

"Hell yeah, let's," Nora grumbled.

Jaune ran towards Pyrrha to help her, only to stop midway as she shook her head and gestured at Ren and Nora. He paused for a second, then turned around and threw himself at them, grabbing Ren's arm just as he activated his Semblance. His pupils dilated as the effect washed over him, and his other arm fell limp.

Ren looked over at Nora. Her emotions were calming fast, but not enough that she didn't realize what needed to be done. Raising her right foot, she pulled it back, then slammed it against Jaune's chest. He stumbled backwards, letting go of Ren's arm, and fell on the ground like a limp noodle.

To his credit, it only took him a couple seconds to get his bearings. Pushing himself up, Jaune turned back to look at Ren and Nora… and blinked several times, staring straight through them.

"Okay, let's get the heck outta here," Nora said, and they ran off under the guise of his Semblance.

* * *

Pyrrha sat up, gritting her teeth as she rubbed her back. Jaune ran over and crouched beside her.

"Are you hurt?" he said, bringing up his hands. "Do you need me to…?"

"I'm fine, my Aura took most of it. I just wasn't expecting her to be that strong," Pyrrha said. "Did we lose them?"

"Yeah. Sorry, I tried to catch them, but something weird happened. They were there one second, then they weren't," Jaune said. "Pyrrha, I don't know how we're ever gonna catch them if that guy can just turn invisible or whatever whenever he wants."

"Don't worry," Pyrrha said. "I put a tracker on Valkyrie when I grabbed her hand. It'll lead us straight to them."

She brought out her Scroll, only to frown as she opened the tracker's interface and was met with no signal.

"That doesn't look right," Jaune said. "Maybe it fell off, or she short-circuited it?"

"Or it's something to do with Ren's Semblance," Pyrrha said. She rubbed her forehead. "There's no use in speculating. We need to get away from here and figure out a new approach. And next time, we'll go in prepared for a fight."

"Yes, ma'am," Jaune said.

He helped her up, and despite what she'd said, he put a hand on her back and activated his Semblance. She groaned, the soothing sensation coursing through her body. He was healing her bruises before they even started to show.

"Thanks, sweetie," she said. "I swear, we're going to catch those two. We'll chase them to the depths of Remnant if we have to."

"That's a little dramatic, don't you think?" Jaune said.

"My back is on fire, and they ran off from right under our noses," Pyrrha said. "I deserve to be dramatic."

"Fair enough," he said. "Depths of Remnant it is, then."

* * *

The hunter emerged from the banks of the river, sinking its claws into the mud. It dragged itself onto land, pulling the screaming mass of its body with long limbs. Daylight shined upon it, a break from the endless storm. Sweet reprieve.

It had kept the scent, even as the days and nights rendered it weak. Now it felt it again. Fear, as intoxicating as the blood from a fresh kill. Wrath, as bright as a fire in the dead of night.

Groaning, the hunter turned south and resumed its chase.


	3. What Terrors the Night Brings

"Ren!" Nora tapped his arm. "I think we can stop running now."

Ren looked back at Nora and saw her panting for air. He squeezed her hand tighter and pulled her towards a building on the street, standing her in front of it. The people on the sidewalk walked past them, oblivious to their presence.

"They can't actually chase us, remember?" Nora said, wiping her brow with the back of her hand. "I don't think they even tried to. They seem like smart people. Except for the being part of a giant evil organization – that's pretty dumb of them."

"It can't hurt to be careful," Ren said.

"That why you haven't dropped your Semblance yet?" Nora said, glancing at their joined hands.

"They're Beacon. They probably have a hundred ways to track us in a town like this," Ren said. "We'd better stay cloaked until we're far away from here."

"Okay. Where do we go, then? Do we skip town?" Nora said.

Ren rubbed his forehead in thought. Truthfully, he didn't think it mattered whether they hid in Suisen or the other side of the world. Wherever they went, Beacon would find them. But acknowledging that problem was only the first step in solving it, and they wouldn't be doing that if they rushed into a decision.

"We need to find somewhere safe to stay," Ren said. "After we get there, we can start planning our next move."

"There's gotta be a cheap motel nearby," Nora said. "That work?"

"Good enough," Ren said. "We can sneak into one of the rooms and stay overnight."

"We're not gonna pay?" Nora frowned. "I mean, I guess we can just leave the money in the room. But what if someone barges in and finds us there? That'd be awkward."

"Nora, I think we have worse things to be worrying about right now," Ren said.

"Right. Good point," Nora said. "Let's get moving, then. Can you hold out until we find the place?"

Ren nodded. He could hold out a lot longer than that.

* * *

Jaune let the door of the diner close behind him, the smell of freshly-baked goods filling his nostrils. He basked in it for a moment, before he felt Pyrrha nudge him towards a table at a corner of the restaurant. He followed her there, and they sat down across from each other. With a wave and a smile, Pyrrha beckoned a waitress over.

"A regular sandwich for me," Pyrrha said. "Jaune?"

"Same, and a chocolate milkshake," Jaune said. "One of those for her too."

Pyrrha glanced between the waitress and him, a slight frown on her forehead. "Jaune, sweetie, I don't know if we should be indulging while on the job."

"Technically, we're still on vacation," Jaune said. "Come on, Pyr. I know it's your favorite."

"It is…" Pyrrha sighed, and smiled at the waitress. "Fine. One milkshake for me as well."

The waitress wrote down their orders and left. Jaune sat back and swept back his hair, staring at Pyrrha. She seemed fine, but she knew how to put on a tough face, he knew that much.

"Are you feeling better? Not sore from the, you know-" He tapped his own back and grimaced. "-stairs?"

"It's like it never happened," Pyrrha said. "Jaune, Lie Ren didn't just go invisible, did he?"

"Uh, no," Jaune said. "It was more than that."

"Can you describe what happened when you grabbed him?"

Jaune held back a sigh. Of course, they couldn't even wait for their food before talking about the mission. Time was of the essence, or so he was told.

"It's hard to explain," Jaune said. "You did see us go invisible, right? Or, uh, _didn't_ see?"

Pyrrha nodded.

"Well, I could still see myself, and Ren and Valkyrie, and you too," Jaune said. "So I guess we _didn't_ go invisible, if that makes any sense?"

"You're saying you were still standing there, I just couldn't see you," Pyrrha said. "Rather, I couldn't _perceive_ you."

"Yes! But even weirder than that. Err…" Jaune bit his lip, searching for the right words. "You know that floaty feeling you get sometimes, when you wake up in the morning and you're kinda there, but at the same time you're kinda not? Just a really nice, gentle feeling all over your body."

"I think I know what you're talking about, yes," Pyrrha said.

"That's what it felt like," Jaune said. "And it was very calming… Before I got kicked in the chest, anyway. That wasn't as nice."

Pyrrha hummed to herself, no doubt already analyzing every angle of this new information. As they sat in silence, the waitress came by with their orders, and Jaune immediately dug in. He had devoured half his sandwich and drank a third of his milkshake when he looked up and noticed Pyrrha hadn't even touched her food yet, and was typing away at her Scroll instead.

"Pyrrha? You, uh, gonna have lunch sometime today?" he said.

"Sorry," Pyrrha said, and took a quick sip of her milkshake, before she turned her attention back to her Scroll. "I'm reaching out to my Beacon contacts."

"You've got Beacon contacts?" Jaune asked.

"You tend to make lasting connections when you work a job for a decade plus," Pyrrha said. "I'm putting out an alert on our runaway pair. If they came into town by bus, I figure they have no transport of their own, so I'm putting eyes on every station and rental place in the city. Every main road out as well, for good measure."

"That's cool. But, uh, if the guy can just go _woosh, totally not here_ , doesn't that make all those measures kinda useless?" Jaune said.

"Yes. He has to drop his Semblance sometime, but he'll surely use it while they're leaving the city," Pyrrha said. "But who knows what might happen. I'm just covering our bases."

"That makes sense," Jaune said.

He picked up his sandwich and took another bite, but found that he didn't enjoy nearly as much as before. Regardless, he kept eating as he waited for Pyrrha to finish. When she finally put her Scroll away, his plate had only crumbs on it.

"Jaune, are you okay?" Pyrrha said. "Do you wish I had talked to you before? These are just basic procedures, I didn't think-"

"No, that's fine. I don't have a problem with it, you were just doing the smart thing," Jaune said.

"Then why do you seem so tense?" Pyrrha said, and raised a hand before he could speak. "I can tell, Jaune. You have been acting odd since we left the cabin. Is it something about the mission?"

Jaune rubbed his forehead. There was no avoiding this conversation, he supposed, so he might as well be honest.

"Try the whole of it," Jaune said. "I just don't get the reason we're doing this."

"The Director gave us the reason. He was very clear," Pyrrha said.

"Just because he gave us a reason doesn't mean it's a good one," Jaune said. "I get it's not safe for people like Valkyrie and Ren to run around unchecked, but it's not like they're bad people."

"We don't know that," Pyrrha said.

"They take down crime lords and donate all the money to orphans," Jaune said. "Those don't sound like the actions of supervillains to me."

"It's more complicated than that, Jaune," Pyrrha said. "I hope you're right that they're good people, but it's hard to believe that when they refuse to cooperate with Beacon. You don't prove your innocence by running away and zapping anyone who reaches out to you."

"Maybe they have a good reason to act that way," Jaune said. "I mean, if I was being chased all over just because I'm different, I'd be pretty pissed too."

"You're reducing the issue at hand," Pyrrha said. "You want them to be good people, so you're cherry-picking facts to get to that conclusion. The truth is that you want a simple solution to a complicated situation, and that's not how things work when we do what we do."

" _We_ kill monsters, Pyrrha. We're not Beacon anymore, remember?" Jaune said. "And maybe I _am_ cherry-picking or whatever, because if things were just a little bit different, we could be the ones being hunted down right now. And why would anyone listen to us then, if we're such a danger to society, right?"

Pyrrha stared at him, her lips pressed in a straight line. She pushed her plate and glass away, leaving them untouched on the side of the table.

"I don't enjoy doing this kind of thing any more than you do, Jaune," Pyrrha said. "But it has to be done. You said it yourself, Beacon was going to send people after them one way or another. Better we be the ones involved, then."

"Right. I did say that, and I meant it. It's why I agreed to go on the mission, because I trust _us_ ," Jaune said. "But you were really quick to get aggro with Valkyrie earlier."

"She threatened us, boldly and directly," Pyrrha said. "I reacted accordingly."

"Sure, if you feared for our lives. But you're the most skilled fighter I know, _and_ I can always heal you if things go bad," Jaune said. "Think of it like this. When you first met Blake, she was pretty much a terrorist, right? So you should have just fought and arrested her. Instead, you listened to her, you helped her, and look where we are today."

"That was different," Pyrrha said. "I was younger back then. More naïve. Nowadays, I wouldn't be so quick to take a risk with someone in the off chance that they're a good person."

"Yeah, because if Ozpin is sending you after someone, chances are they're total scum," Jaune said. "He's got great judgment when it comes to people, that guy."

He saw Pyrrha stiffen, pursing her lips for a second before she put on a composed expression. The hurt remained in her eyes, though, and he immediately felt awful that he'd been the one to cause it.

"I'm not sure what it is you're trying to say, Jaune," Pyrrha said.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean you. I was thinking of Cinder, and…" Jaune sighed. "I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have said that. This whole mission's got me all wigged out."

"Do you want us to drop it?" Pyrrha asked. "We can, if you want. Like you said, we're not even real agents anymore."

"No, it's fine. We should keep going, now that we're in this," Jaune said. "Just, when we find them again, let's try to be more…"

"Patient?" Pyrrha said. "Yes. I think that'd be wise."

She stared at him for a moment, before she grabbed her sandwich and started eating. Jaune gave her a weak smile, and drank the rest of his milkshake.

They stayed silent for the rest of lunch.

* * *

Nora dropped her backpack on the corner and looked around. The room they'd entered was tiny, with only a single bed, which would prove troublesome later. But seeing as they weren't paying to stay the night, they didn't have the luxury of picking out the most comfortable room. At least there was a bathroom in the back, though with a crappy shower, no doubt.

She looked back at Ren, standing just behind her with his hand still on her shoulder. Going by his face alone, he seemed fine, but she'd have to be blind not to notice him swaying on his feet. He'd never untethered the both of them for such a long time and distance before, and that worried her – as much as anything could worry her while under his Semblance, anyway.

"I think you can drop it now, Ren," Nora said. "We're safe."

Ren looked towards the door. "I'm not so sure."

"What, you think they're gonna barge in the second we pop out?" Nora said. "You're gonna have to drop it eventually, Ren. Unless you're not gonna sleep tonight?"

He looked at her, not saying a word in response, and Nora knew that was exactly what he'd been planning to do. Sighing, she grabbed his hand and took it off her shoulder. The moment they weren't touching anymore, Ren vanished, and Nora felt a jolt run up her spine. A couple seconds later, he reappeared

"Alright, mister," she said, taking Ren and sitting him down at the edge of the bed. "You're sleeping on this, uh… mattress-looking thing - I think it's supposed to be a bed - tonight. And I'll sleep on the floor. Good?"

"Nora… That is really not necessary," Ren said, his Semblance still activated. Nora glared at him and gave him a push on his shoulder, and finally he dropped it. "We can share a bed for one night."

"Oh boy, you sure picked a good day to make that invitation," Nora said. "No. You need all the rest you can get. Try to argue with me, and I'll break your legs."

"That... would be counterproductive," Ren said.

" _Lie Ren_."

She crossed her arms and glared at him, and clever as he was, he got the message loud and clear. He lay down on his back, though he didn't close his eyes yet. That was fine. Nora would prefer for him to go right to sleep, but she couldn't exactly force him to.

Well actually, she _could_ , with a well-placed smack to the head, but she reserved for only the most dire of circumstances. She was, above else, a gentle and kind-hearted friend.

"Okay, so, I guess we're running for the hills?" Nora said, pacing from one end of the room to the other – which wasn't a long distance at all, really. "Count our sheep, have a couple nightmares about running from super-spies, and then get on a bus at the crack of dawn and leave those jerks in the dust. Good plan?"

"As good as any, I suppose," Ren said from the bed.

"Yeah, you _suppose._ It's not like it matters if we run away, they're gonna find us again eventually. They always do," Nora said. She stopped for a moment, lifting her hands and then slowly lowering them as she exhaled. "Okay, I gotta cut that out. Being grumpy isn't gonna help anyone. Keep up a positive mental attitude! Everything will be a-okay, you just have to be a little patient!"

She spun around and smiled at Ren.

"Alright, this sucks, but we've done this before. We just gotta get far away from here and hunker down for a little while, then we can start doing good again. Such is the burden of two unappreciated paragons of justice!" she said. "How about we lay low in Argus this time? I know it's a bit chilly like, all year, but at least it's summer. Shouldn't be too bad, right?"

A few seconds passed without Ren replying, before he raised his head to look her way. Somehow, she knew she wasn't going to like whatever he was about to tell her.

"Nora," he said. "I don't think that's gonna cut it this time."

"You think we're gonna have to flee to another country?" Nora said, rubbing her arm. "I mean, if we have to, I guess… But I don't like the sound of that one bit."

"We might have to, but that's not what I meant," Ren said. "Wherever we go, I think our crimefighting days are over. They found us in the orphanage, Nora."

The reality of what he was saying hit Nora all at once. She stumbled back, her knees feeling like jelly all of a sudden, until she hit a wall behind her and slid down to the floor.

"They… they traced our donations," Nora said. "They know about everything, don't they? They're never gonna let us…"

Ren sat up. "Nora, I'm so sorry."

Nora jumped up to her feet, her hand shaking as she wiped a tear from her eye.

"I hate them! I hate Beacon, and all their stupid agents! Why can't they leave us alone? First they've gotta chase us like dogs, and now they're taking everything good away from us. I hate them!" Nora said. "I'm so tired of running. You know, I was just being tough before, but next time they try to snag us I'm really gonna-"

She clenched her fist in front of her, but all that came out was a pathetic whimper of a spark. Her shoulders dropped.

"I've gotta charge up," she muttered, and looked around for an outlet. Spotting one under the desk opposite the bed, she dropped to her knees and crawled under. She licked the index and middle fingers of her right hand, and without further ceremony, stuck them into the sockets.

The intake of energy was immediate, surging up her arm and spreading to the rest of her body in the blink of an eye. Her muscles bulged for a few seconds before returning to their usual definition, and for the life of her, she couldn't close her eyes, not even for the tiniest fraction of a second. It was a delicious sensation, as always.

Still, it wasn't enough for her to forget everything else. She looked at Ren, and found him sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at her in silence. Ren never wore his emotions on his face, such that even she had trouble figuring out what he was thinking most of the time. It was pretty obvious now, though.

"Don't worry, Ren. I'm not gonna do anything crazy," Nora said. "I'm angry, but I still know what's really important. We have to stay together."

She took her fingers off the outlet, and flexed her hand as the last bits of electricity settled inside her.

"You said you're tired of running," Ren said. "Maybe we should stop."

"What do you mean?" Nora said. "Like, we should let them come to us and kick their asses? 'Cause I don't think that's gonna stop Beacon. They mass produce agents in minimum-wage factories, ya know."

"I meant, we should consider talking to them," Ren said. "If it's what it takes to get them off our backs…"

"I don't know about that, Ren," Nora said. "You need to go to sleep. And you know what, I think I could use a few jolts more."

She didn't wait for him to answer, sticking her fingers into the outlet again.

* * *

"That's where they're staying?" Jaune whispered. "Man. I've seen horse stables fancier than this place." He paused. "Actually that's a lie. I've never seen an actual stable in my life."

Pyrrha hummed noncommittally, holding an arm to his chest to stop him from walking into the motel parking lot, where he'd be in full view of anyone looking through their windows. She glanced at her Scroll, then at one of the doors on the second floor of the motel.

"That's their room," she said, indicating the door to Jaune with a nod. "I'm guessing they snuck in for the night."

"Or they did one of those spy movie tricks and tossed your tracker down a drain, and that's where it ended up," Jaune said, and looked at her for approval. "It would explain why it took so long to start working, right?"

"That's… very imaginative thinking," Pyrrha said. "But I think it's more likely something related to Ren's Semblance."

"I guess so, yeah," Jaune said. "So what's the plan? We just walk up to their door and knock?"

"That's the easiest option, but probably not the best one," Pyrrha said. "If we come to them in their room, they'll likely feel cornered, and that'll lead into a confrontation we want to avoid. It would be best to meet them out in the open."

"Except then they'll just slip away like last time," Jaune said.

"I did say the other option was easier," Pyrrha said. "We'll just have to wait for an opportunity to separate them. Follow me."

She walked into the parking lot, making her way towards one of the cars furthest to their marks' room. She kept a casual pace, though she knew she would seem out of place to anyone that looked her way. Such was the cost of carrying her shield around – same with Jaune's sword. And she was glad to see he was following her lead, though not without some visible anxiety.

They reached the car, and with a simple touch to its roof, Pyrrha unlocked its latches and disabled its alarm. She opened the driver's door and slipped inside. Jaune went around the car, and a few seconds after her, entered through the passenger's side.

"That was neat," Jaune said, sweeping back his hair. "You know, Pyrrha, you could make a career out of robbing banks."

"Robbing banks." Pyrrha threw him a look. "And why would I do that?"

"I don't know. Maybe if one day all the Grimm just stop showing up and you fall on hard times..." Jaune said. "I could be your guy helping the operation from the outside! Jamming the alarms, diverting traffic on the escape, that kinda stuff. I'd accept, like, a fifteen percent cut for my services."

"I see. But if we robbed banks together, surely we'd split the spoils evenly between us," Pyrrha said, and a moment later realized what she was saying. "Not that I'd ever consider breaking the law, of course!"

"Uh, didn't you literally justbreak into a stranger's car? And made me an accomplice, too," Jaune said.

"To be fair, I didn't _consider_ doing that. I just... did it," Pyrrha said. "Anyway, we should focus on the mission."

She leaned over the steering wheel. Like she'd thought, they had an unobstructed view of Valkyrie and Ren's room from this spot, and nobody would see them unless they walked up close.

"So this is like a stake-out, huh?" Jaune said. "I think I'm already bored."

"This is how it goes, unfortunately. At least we can talk to each other," Pyrrha said. She looked at Jaune. "I'm sorry we're here. This probably isn't how you imagined we'd be spending our last day of vacation."

"Hey, if I'm with you, that's more than good enough by itself," Jaune said. "Besides, we both agreed to take on this mission. You don't have anything to feel sorry about."

He smiled at her, then looked away, tapping his fingers on his thigh.

Pyrrha wished she could open the window on her side, but that would compromise their position. Sitting with Jaune alone, in silence, shouldn't feel so claustrophobic. Just the contrary. But there had been something between them since lunch, a tension neither of them was comfortable giving voice to.

Was this how it felt to have a fight? Were they having a fight? She didn't think their disagreement had been that bad, but maybe she was failing to see things from Jaune's perspective.

"Jaune," she said, "you'd tell me if things weren't okay between us, right?"

"What? Yeah, for sure," Jaune said, and took her hand. "We're good. I mean, I should be the one worrying about that. I said some really stupid stuff earlier."

"You didn't say anything stupid. You were just speaking your mind," Pyrrha said. "I'm glad you did that. You don't have to hold back with me, you know that, right?"

"I know." Jaune squeezed her hand. "I just don't wanna ever hurt you or upset you or anything like that."

"Why not?" Pyrrha said, tilting her head.

"What do you mean why not? Because I love you?" Jaune said.

Pyrrha looked into Jaune's eyes, and he turned his head away.

"Are you afraid if you make me angry, or challenge me in any way, that I'll leave you?" she asked.

Jaune took his hand back. "That's crazy. Where did you get that from?"

"It's okay if you feel that way! I mean, I guess it hurts a little, because I want you to know you can trust me, but-" Pyrrha stopped, reordering her thoughts. It wasn't common that she felt this flustered. "We've been together for a year. I'm… I'm not here just to pick up the pieces, you know?"

Jaune looked at her and nodded. "I never thought that."

"Good. Because this thing, you and me? This is it." Pyrrha put a hand to her chest. "At least to me, it is. You don't have to feel the same way. I'll be okay if-"

"I do, Pyrrha," Jaune said, taking her hand again. "I absolutely do. You don't have to worry about that."

Pyrrha smiled, her shoulders dropping as if a building had been lifted off her shoulders.

And then she remembered what they were supposed to be doing.

"Oh crap," Pyrrha said, turning to look at Valkyrie and Ren's room. "They didn't come out while we were talking, right?"

"I don't think so," Jaune said. "I guess we got a bit distracted, huh?"

"You can say that twice," Pyrrha said, rubbing her forehead. "Okay, well, let's get comfortable. We could be here for hours."

Jaune nodded and started leaning towards her.

"Wait." Pyrrha raised a hand to stop him. "Not _that_ comfortable."

Jaune blinked. "Aw. I was just going to rest my head on your lap for a bit. I wasn't going to sleep or anything."

"Oh, yeah? And how were you planning to keep watch from down there, exactly?" Pyrrha asked.

"Well, the plan was for you to watch the door, while I watched your beautiful face and made sure you didn't fall asleep," Jaune said.

"Hmm. I see." Pyrrha lowered her hand. "…On second thought, I think we can work with that arrangement."

* * *

"I'm going to take a shower," Ren said, getting up from the bed.

Nora looked at him from her very nice, not-at-all uncomfortable corner on the floor. "That's a good idea. You _are_ pretty stinky."

Ren looked at her as if to say _thank you_ , then started walking to the bathroom.

"Wait!" Nora said, jumping to her feet. "Before you go, can we go grab a snack from that vending machine outside? I'm famished and I need sustenance immediately!"

"Nora…" Ren sighed. "I won't be five minutes. Can you wait that long?"

"Ugh. I _guess_ ," Nora said. "But it'll be your fault if you come out of there and find out I ate my own hand, you monster."

"Then that is a risk I will have to take."

Ren walked into the bathroom and locked the door. A minute later, she heard the sputtering of the motel's crappy shower, which wasn't nearly loud enough to cover up the noises her stomach was starting to make.

She looked at the door to the outside, then at the bathroom, then back at the door. A monstrous roar came from her belly. She looked down at her hand.

It was starting to look very appetizing.

* * *

"Jaune, she's leaving the room."

Jaune woke up with Pyrrha shaking him by the shoulder, and sat up so fast he hit his head on the roof of the car. He groaned as he rubbed the sore spot, and followed Pyrrha's line of sight. Indeed, Nora Valkyrie was standing just outside the room, quickly tiptoeing away from it with her shirt pulled up to poorly conceal her face.

"Uh, what's she doing?" Jaune said.

"She's trying to be sneaky," Pyrrha said. "Just like you were when you fell asleep seconds after lying down."

"In my defense, you have very comfortable thighs," Jaune said. "Anyway – is Ren with her?"

"There's no way to be sure, but I think not," Pyrrha said. "I think it's time to make our move."

They watched Valkyrie go down the stairs to the parking lot, then walk off, eventually disappearing beyond the corner of a hallway.

"Okay, so we go after her together, or do we split up?" Jaune said. "I don't think she's gonna feel very talkative if we gang up on her."

"You should be the one to approach her. I don't think I've made a good impression on her," Pyrrha said. "I'll go up to their room and talk to the boyfriend. I should be able to keep him in there for a while."

"Good plan!" Jaune said, and they got out of the car. "You know, if our goal was to come off as friendly, we probably shouldn't have brought our weapons."

"Too late for that," Pyrrha said. "Keep your Scroll ready in case you need to call for help. I'll do the same."

"Alright," Jaune said. "Best luck to us."

Pyrrha gave him a peck on the lips, and they went their separate ways.

* * *

"Stupid machine! Give me my goodies or I will trash you, you greed-monster!"

Nora kicked the vending machine, but it did nothing more than shake a bit and make her foot ache. She took a step back, glaring at the machine and the rows of chocolate bars and bags of chips inside it that refused to move, no matter how many bills she fed into it.

Maybe if she gave it a little zap, it would become more _cooperative_. It might even give her money back, as well as some extras as compensation for the annoyance. Ren would never approve, but he wasn't here to judge her.

Nora pulled her sleeves back and inched towards the machine, wiggling her fingers as she slowly brought them towards the selection panel-

"Hey."

Nora jumped back and put her hands above her head. She turned and saw someone approaching from the direction of the parking lot. She couldn't see him very well with the dim lighting of the hallway, but there was no way he didn't realize what she'd been doing.

"Heya, mister! I was just about to give my money to this machine to legally obtain delicious snacks!" Nora said. "Oh shucks, it looks like it's not working very well. Maybe you should try and-"

The guy continued to walk towards her, eventually getting directly under the lights, and Nora saw his unkempt blond hair – and the sword sheathed on his back.

"Oh hell no. _You_?" Nora said. "What part of _leave us alone_ do you people not get?"

"Oh no, we got that pretty clear. We're just too stubborn to listen," he said.

"Well, I hope you're a fast learner, buddy." Nora clenched her fists. She looked past the agent's shoulder, seeing no one else there. "Where's your psychotic girlfriend?"

"First off, she's not psychotic. She's actually a very patient and kind woman. That's just her work persona, okay?" he said. "And, uh, she's probably talking to your boyfriend right now."

Nora's lips twisted in a snarl, and she took a step towards him. Jolts ran down her arms, her muscles tightening with the energy stored inside her.

"Listen. There's no reason for us to fight," he said, backing up a step. "We just came here to talk."

"Oh yeah, you're just here to talk," Nora said, "with your freaking _sword_?"

"That's a good point. I just… didn't have a convenient place to leave it." He grabbed his sword by its straps and took it off. "Here, you can hold it."

He tossed the sword to her. Nora neglected to grab it, letting it clatter on the floor just beside her. She gave a look to the fallen weapon, then at its owner. Either he was really dumb, or really, really confident in himself.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot. Let's give it another try, okay?" he said. "My name's Jaune Arc. I'm a Huntsman. And you're…?"

"You already know my name," Nora said. "You know everything about me. I bet you even know my blood type, ya creep."

"I don't know if that's in your file, actually," Jaune said. "Beacon does know a lot about you, though. Like how you take out gangs that target vulnerable kids, and how you take their money and give it all up to support orphanages." He held her stare. "I think you're a good person."

Of all things, Nora hadn't expected to hear that. For a few seconds, she let the electricity inside her fade back, before she remembered herself and brought it back to her fingertips.

"That's great. I'm really flattered that you have such a high opinion of me, Mister Hunts-Down-Selfless-Heroes," she said. "I almost want to go with you now, to get brainwashed and experimented on and all that nice stuff. It sounds like just my kind of fun!"

"Nothing like that is gonna happen to you. Pyrrha and I will make sure you're treated well," Jaune said. "I get that it feels unfair that you have to go through this. But when you do the kinds of things you do, you can't expect everyone to just be okay with it. You might have good intentions, but that doesn't make them any less dangerous."

"I would never hurt anyone that didn't deserve it," Nora said.

"And you can prove that," Jaune said, "but you're not gonna do that by running away from things."

Nora huffed and brought up her fists, the air crackling around them. "Good thing I'm not planning on-"

Her last words turned into a whimper as suddenly all the air was pulled out of her lungs. An overwhelming cold assaulted her, piercing the nape of her neck and locking her body into place. A world's distance away, she heard Jaune call her name.

And then she fell.

* * *

Pyrrha put the envelope down on the bed, going through the letters inside again in her head.

_We put in a lot extra this time! We might not be able to do this for a while._

_Please make it last, and use it well!_

_~the Ghost and the Valkyrie_

The letters sounded genuine, though Pyrrha had never really doubted that. She was more worried that they resembled the words of someone who was growing ever more desperate. The fact that was partly at fault for that didn't escape her, though there was no point in lamenting that fact now.

She heard the shower stop in the bathroom, and sat down on the bed, crossing one leg over the other as she waited. A couple minutes later, the door opened, and out stepped Lie Ren, a towel wrapped around his head and his upper body bared. He saw her sitting there, and for a moment the only sound in the room was the faint dripping of the showerhead.

Ren sighed. "Nora snuck out to get snacks, didn't she?"

"I believe so," Pyrrha said. "My partner is talking to her right now. Don't worry, she's not in any danger."

"It's not him I'm worried about," Ren said. "How's your back, Agent Nikos?"

"It was sore for a while, but it's better now," Pyrrha said. "And Jaune can handle himself."

He nodded and walked past her, taking out a shirt from a backpack on the floor. He removed his towel and gingerly hung it on a chair, then put the shirt on. Pyrrha watched him all the while, intrigued by his behavior. He didn't act like she wasn't there – no, he seemed very aware of her at all times – but he didn't seem at all perturbed by her presence.

"Are you always this calm, Mr. Ren, or is this something you have practiced?" Pyrrha asked.

Ren adjusted the collar of his shirt. "Is there a reason I shouldn't be calm?"

"I would think you should be a little apprehensive to find me in your room like this," Pyrrha said.

"I'm more afraid what you'll do if I try to leave," Ren said. "You aren't going to let me, are you?"

"I'm afraid not. Not until we've had a proper conversation," Pyrrha said. "But you don't have anything to fear from me. I have no intention of harming you, and I don't think you'll give me a reason to."

Truthfully, Pyrrha doubted she could hurt him even if she wanted to. She was certainly the better combatant, but that didn't mean a thing if she couldn't even lay a finger on him. But that wasn't important. Ren understood her, it seemed, and she thought she understood him.

"Are you going to try and convince me that we should hand ourselves over to Beacon?" Ren said.

"Yes," Pyrrha said. "I get the impression neither of you are thrilled about the idea."

"We aren't," Ren said, "but it would be the smart thing to do."

Pyrrha leaned forward. "So you're open to it."

"I always knew this wouldn't last forever. Either we'd make a mistake and Beacon would catch us, or we'd be forced to stop our activities," Ren said. "Running was never a solution. It only gave us more time."

"Time, which you now realize you're running out of," Pyrrha said. "But she doesn't feel the same."

Ren rested his back against the wall behind him, and for the first time, Pyrrha saw him take on a troubled expression.

"Nora… is a very passionate person. She's smart, but she runs on emotions more often than reason," he said. "I don't begrudge her for that, but she can be very short-sighted at times because of it."

"But she listens to you," Pyrrha said. "Do you think you could convince her to see things your way?"

"I could try," Ren said. "But I should warn you, if I can't convince her, and you still try to take us in…"

His expression changed drastically, his eyes narrowing with an anger entirely unlike the person Pyrrha had been talking with so far.

"…then I _will_ give you a reason to harm me."

* * *

Nora didn't make a sound as she hit the ground, which was perhaps the scariest part of it all. Jaune's eyes went wide, as for a moment all he could do was watch as she curled up on the floor, shivering viciously from head to toe. Was she having some kind of seizure? Was it something he'd done, something he'd said that had caused this?

He remembered himself, the terror of the situation vanishing as he determined that it didn't matter what part he had in this. There was a person in crisis in front of him, and he was the only one there to take immediate action and help her.

Rushing to her side, Jaune crouched beside Nora and turned her over. He called her name, and her eyes turned to look at him, wide and unfocused. She didn't acknowledge him in any other way, and he figured she was not going to tell him what was happening to her.

He held her still, trying to keep her shaking to a minimum, and prepared to draw on his Semblance. He didn't know if that would resolve whatever the issue was, but it should at least ease some of the pain she might be feeling. Once he had her more or less stabilized, he could call Pyrrha, and they'd figure out what to do next.

Before he started pouring his Aura into Nora, however, a chill ran down his spine, and Jaune found himself looking towards the other end of the hallway, opposite from where he'd come from. There was nothing there except for the darkness of the street beyond, but for the life of him he couldn't look away. It was a familiar feeling, if not in its intensity.

 _Grimm_.

A hand appeared at the edge of the dim light, two long clawed fingers reaching around the corner and grabbing onto the wall. Then another hand, hovering low to the ground at the end of a tendril-like black arm. It sunk into the ground, and then both hands _pulled_ , revealing the rest of the creature they belonged to. It was an amorphous thing, its body a dark, viscous mass that one second was so big to fill almost half the hallway, and lean and warped the next. The only constant was its bony skull, which resembled that of a regular person, except for the curved horns that sprung from its forehead.

The creature hovered at the end of the hallway, its red eyes burning in the dark. Jaune stood slowly and, never looking away, stepped towards his sword. Nora remained where he left her, shivering on the floor.

"Nora," he said, trying to keep his voice steady despite everything. "You've gotta get up now."

She didn't listen. He grabbed his sword and pointed it at the creature. At the Grimm. Because that's what it was – but how could it be? He should have gotten an alert on his Scroll. He should have gotten it _days_ ago, if it was going to show up just a couple hours from where he was staying.

He blinked. Pyrrha. His Scroll. He reached for it-

The Grimm shot across the hallway, its lower end taking the shape of what appeared to be fours legs. Jaune shouted and put himself between Nora and the creature as it charged towards her, holding his sword before him to repel it.

To his astonishment, the Grimm didn't slow at all, driving itself into the blade to the very hilt, and still it tried to push further. It didn't seem to mind at all that it had been skewered all the way through, or that Jaune was right in front of it, vulnerable to attack. It just pushed forward, swinging its arms like whips towards Nora, and Jaune had to pour every drop of strength he had into standing his ground against the monster.

Suddenly, Jaune understood. To the Grimm, he might as well not be there. All it cared about was Nora.

"Nora!" he shouted, hoping she could hear him over the terrible noises the Grimm was making. "You've gotta get up and run! Get Pyrrha! Get-"

The Grimm seemed to realize his presence then, its eyes bearing down on him like he was nothing more than an inconvenient obstacle. It reached back with one hand and grabbed Jaune's shoulder, and yanked him to the side. Jaune tried to resist, but the creature was much stronger than him, and he hit the wall shoulder-fist. His sword remained embedded in the Grimm's chest, moving with its inconstant mass.

The Grimm didn't wait a second before moving on Nora again, and it almost got its claws on her before Jaune sprung to action, pushing off the wall and thrusting his hand towards the beast. Extending his Aura beyond himself, he shoved the Grimm away from Nora, and when it tried to lunge again, he stepped towards it and redoubled his efforts, pinning it against the wall opposite.

"Nora!"

That, finally, seemed to get through to her. Still shaking, Nora raised her head and looked at him and the thrashing Grimm, then rose to her feet and ran off. The Grimm shrieked and reached in her direction, but Jaune put his hands together and pushed it harder.

"No way. You, sir," he said, gritting his teeth, "are staying right here with me."

* * *

"…then I _will_ give you a reason to harm me."

The words left a strange taste in Ren's mouth, and for a moment he wondered why he'd said them. It was entirely unlike him. But as he looked at Pyrrha Nikos, he couldn't help but clench his fists, his fingers digging so hard into the palm of his hands, he almost drew blood.

"I appreciate your loyalty, Mr. Ren," Pyrrha said, regarding him with a cautious eye. "But we've had a reasonable conversation so far. I'd appreciate it if we could keep it that way."

Ren looked away from her, towards the window, and his anger spiked. He saw _red_ , and made straight for the door, though Pyrrha rose to stand in his path. Without thought, he untethered and walked around her, then reappeared when he reached the door. He tried to open the door, but the knob refused to move, even when he yanked on it with all his strength. He looked back at Pyrrha, and saw her holding her hand out before her, a strange glow bordering her fingers.

"Open the door," Ren said, " _now_."

"I won't keep you, Mr. Ren," Pyrrha said, "but you should consider whether this is the note you want to leave us on."

He turned and shouted, "Open the door!"

Ren took a step towards Pyrrha, and she drew back, her eyes darting about as she took in the space around them. She reached for her shield, and he took another step towards her. Fine, if she didn't want to open the door, he would make her do it.

A scream pierced through the night, and both him and Pyrrha turned to look. Thundering footsteps approached from just outside the room, before someone started to bang on the door.

 _Nora_.

Ren turned away. "Open the-"

He didn't have to finish. Pyrrha lowered her fist, and the door opened wide. Nora stumbled past the threshold, sobbing, and she would have fallen on the floor if Ren hadn't caught her first.

"Nora, what's wrong?" he said, kneeling alongside her. "Are you hurt? What happened?"

Nora pressed her forehead against his chest. "A m-monster-"

"Monster? You mean a Grimm?" Pyrrha stood beside them, her shoulders tensed. "Where's Jaune?"

Nora didn't reply, her body wracking with another sob.

"You. Keep her here, try and calm her down," Pyrrha said, pointing at Ren. "Lock the door, and don't open it until I come back."

She ran out of the room, and Ren almost chased after her. Something inside of him was screaming for him to go outside and let loose, to dispense his anger until it was all gone.

But he felt Nora, heard her struggling to breathe, and stayed where he was, holding her close for all he was worth. With a deep breath, he tapped into his Semblance, and it slowly washed over them.

* * *

Jaune grunted. Holding the Grimm with his Aura wasn't painful, but he could practically feel the strength leaving his body the longer the struggle went on. It was just a few seconds, he knew, but it felt much longer than that. He almost slipped once, and had to grab his right wrist with the other hand to keep his focus.

He looked at the Grimm, and knew this wasn't going to last. Either his strength would fail him and the Grimm would overpower him, or he'd run out of Aura. Whether the monster chose to confront him head-on or chase after Nora again, things were bound to turn from bad to worse.

Jaune had his answer shortly as, for seemingly no reason, the Grimm stopped lunging in the direction Nora had gone. For a moment it didn't move at all, and then it started trashing again, this time directly against him. Jaune didn't think it was possible, but somehow it became even harder to hold the Grimm back.

He eyed his sword, ran through the creature's chest. _Now or never_. He stopped pushing his Aura, and charged the Grimm, grabbing the handle and shoving the monster back against the wall before it could attack.

With a shout, Jaune yanked upwards, cleaving a line through the Grimm's body. It didn't appear to do any harm, the black mass reconvening instants after being parted. But the sword was nearing the head, and Jaune smiled. No matter how tough the Grimm's bone armor was, the Omnium of his sword was tougher. It would have no trouble-

With a strange sputtering sound, the head sunk into the body below, disappearing into its depths. Jaune almost lost his sword as it suddenly passed through nothing. He stared, jaw slack.

What the hell had just happened?

Before him, the entirety of the Grimm bulged, filling half of the hallway like it'd done before. Jaune backed up, holding his sword at his side to swing at the first sign of an attack.

He was still too slow to react when it came, though – in the form of another head bursting out of the monster's midsection and snapping at him. It wasn't like the first one, resembling the shape of a horse's head rather than a person's, and unlike the other, this one was _entirely_ covered in bone. And as it sunk its teeth around his torso and lifted him up, Jaune discovered it was much more of a threat.

He yelled and tried to swing down at the Grimm, but his sword slipped from his grasp as he was yanked around. It clattered on the floor below, and he soon lost sight of it as the monster stepped over it. He couldn't care, the Grimm's teeth ripping into his faltering Aura and sending pain spiking through his body.

"N-no way," he said, trying to keep his head clear despite everything. He made a fist with his right hand and focused his Aura on it, preparing to make a last-ditch attempt to free himself. "I'm not-"

He heard a familiar sound of metal cutting through air, and suddenly Pyrrha's shield came flying from the right, piercing halfway into the Grimm's side. Pyrrha herself appeared a moment later, and tackled the Grimm shoulder-first, driving the shield even deeper in.

The monster staggered to the side, opening its mouth as it let out a frightful growl, and Jaune slipped out of it and fell on his back. He crawled backwards, watching as the Grimm reclined low to the ground, its mass mutating once again until its arms were gone, and it stood on four trunk-wide legs. On the other side of it, Pyrrha tried to reach for her shield, but it disappeared inside before she could take it back.

"Jaune, are you okay?" Pyrrha shouted.

"Yeah, I'm good!" Jaune stood up, leaning on his knees as he found his balance. "Be careful! I stabbed and slashed this thing and it didn't even flinch!"

The Grimm howled and bit at Pyrrha, its teeth snapping shut a hair width from her head as she jumped back. It continued to charge at her, and Jaune winced every time he saw her barely avoid being caught in its mouth.

The Grimm's advance had a silver lining, however, as it revealed his sword where it had been standing moments before. Jaune ran to it and picked it up. Okay, so he had a weapon, but how was he supposed to kill the thing if it just ignored all his attempts to hurt it? It only seemed to care to protect its head, but it had seen the attack coming before and avoided it-

"Pyrrha, turn it!" Jaune yelled, and held his sword low.

Pyrrha reacted instantly, diving between the Grimm's front legs, ending up just beneath its torso. She rolled to get across the last bit of distance, and came out the other side, going just past Jaune. The Grimm turned around to follow her, and as the head came towards them, Jaune moved in advance and swung his swords towards it.

His blade passed through nothing once again, the horse head sinking into the body with a fraction of a second to spare. Jaune stumbled to a halt. The Grimm shifted again, the horned humanoid head returning as it took its slender shape from before, and before Jaune knew it, its arms came out and struck him.

* * *

"Do you need anything?" Ren said, holding Nora's arm as she lay back on the bed with a pillow to her chest. "I've got some water in my backpack."

"No, I'm fine," Nora said. "I'm… I'm better now."

Ren stared at her face. She did seem better. The shivering had stopped completely, and though she still looked disoriented, she was at least perfectly capable of talking with him now. Much of this was thanks to his Semblance. The anger that had overwhelmed him had disappeared as well, for the same reason.

"What exactly happened out there, Nora?" Ren asked.

"I don't know. I was just talking to that Jaune guy, and then," Nora said, "I just got this awful feeling in the back of my neck, like something was coming for me. Then all of a sudden I was on the ground. I couldn't even move." She shook her head. "I guess that's when that thing showed up."

"Did it hurt you?" Ren said. He didn't see a scratch on her, but maybe he was missing something.

"No. It wanted to, but Jaune held it back." Nora frowned. "He told me to run, and I did… I didn't even think about it, I was so terrified. I guess he's still out there."

"Everything will be fine, Nora," Ren said. "They'll take care of it."

Nora looked at him. "That's just the thing, Ren… I'm not sure they will. And we're just hiding here."

Ren pursed his lips. He wasn't supposed to leave the room, much less with Nora by his side, and not only because Pyrrha had told him not to. Waiting for everything to blow over was just the most prudent thing to do.

But saying no to Nora was always hard, especially when she was this earnest about something. And he couldn't pretend he hadn't been thinking much the same thing.

"Okay. Come with me," Ren said, taking Nora's hand and putting it on his shoulder, "and whatever you do, don't let go."

* * *

"Jaune!" Pyrrha shouted, watching him be struck in the chest by the Grimm's claws. He fell backwards, and before he hit the ground, one of the arms snaked around his ankle and jerked him to the side, where he collided against a vending machine and nearly brought it to the ground.

Not satisfied, the Grimm grabbed Jaune's other leg, and slowly lifted him upside-down. Blood seeped from the side of his head, coating his hair before it dripped on the tiles below. He blinked and rolled his jaw, going in and out of conscious.

Seeing enough, Pyrrha swiped with her hand, and Jaune's sword came flying from where he'd dropped it. It slashed through the Grimm's arms, dropping Jaune on his back, and there he stayed. The monster turned immediately, its attention falling on Pyrrha again, and it charged her, its arms regrowing as it approached her.

Pyrrha summoned the sword into her hands, and met the Grimm's charge, scoring a wide cut from its hips to its shoulder. Yet that didn't deter the creature for a second, as it turned and slashed at her in turn, missing by an inch as she rolled out of its reach.

Pyrrha turned and watched her foe. If the normal means of killing a Grimm weren't going to cut it, she'd have to be a little more _thorough_. Tossing the sword aside, she pointed her hands at the Grimm, and after a few seconds, found her shield. It was buried somewhere inside its body, but she could still feel it with all its familiarity.

She turned her hands, and the shield began to spin inside the Grimm. The monster, previously intent on lunging at her again, stopped to look down at its own chest. A second more, and it began to claw at it, not angry or in pain but just _confused_.

Gritting her teeth, Pyrrha made the shield spin even faster, and then with a mighty _pull_ , summoned it to her. Black goo splattered everywhere as the metal tore through the Grimm from the inside, and it screeched. It wasn't dead, but it was finally damaged. Pyrrha caught her shield in her hands-

A lightning bolt ran through her, starting from her fingertips and bottling at her core, then coming back out through the soles of her feet. The world turned black and she fell-

When she came to, the Grimm was standing atop her, back to its horse-like form. It reared back a hoofed foot, and Pyrrha had a second to bring up her shield and protect her head. The stomp came with relentless force, and every bone in her body rattled with the aftershock.

Another stomp came, followed by another. The floor cracked under Pyrrha. Another stomp. The edges of her shield dug into her arms. Another stomp. She lost her strength for a second, and the shield slammed against her nose.

The Grimm raised its foot again. Pyrrha held her shield above her head and launched it away, propelling herself out of reach. She rolled over and got on her knees, looking around…

Where was Jaune? He wasn't lying where she'd last saw him, just next to the vending machine. Cold dread filled her.

She felt the Grimm coming at her, and stood up and spun, blocking whatever attack came. It had shifted again, and rather than slashing at her with its claws or wrapping her in its arms, the Grimm grabbed her shield, and ripped it out of her grasp. It regarded the object for a second, its eyes filled with an annoyance that was much too intelligent for its kind, before it threw it away with a growl.

It charged her, shifting once again to ram her against a wall with its horse head, and in the blink of an eye, it had arms again. Pyrrha didn't even have time to make sense of anything, as it grabbed her by the throat and pinned her against the wall, its sharp fingers straining the Aura protecting her neck.

It slithered close, towering over her, and she felt its hot breath on her face as it leaned close. Pyrrha kicked it in desperation again and again and again, but none of it registered with the Grimm, and eventually it grabbed her leg and pulled it. She felt something twist – maybe even break – and her consciousness started to leave her…

Just as she was about to black out, the Grimm released her and slithered backwards, Jaune's sword slicing through where its head had been a second before. She began to fall, but he dropped his sword and grabbed her, then started to drag her backwards, away from the Grimm. It roared and lunged at them… and stopped, mere inches away from them.

Pyrrha blinked and looked up at Jaune, feeling impossibly calm of a sudden.

"It's okay," he said. "I've got you."

Lie Ren stood beside him, a hand on Jaune's shoulder, and the other on Nora Valkyrie's. They inched backwards until they hit a wall.

The Grimm wavered back and forth, staring at the spot they'd disappeared. Its eyes burned a bright red, and its movement became more and more erratic. It shifted to its horse form, then back to the humanoid form, and back, and the other way, never retaining its shape for more than a second, until at last its two heads emerged out of the dark mass at the same time and _screeched_ to the heavens.

The Grimm turned and scurried away in a confusing tangle of arms and legs. Thunder boomed in the distance, and the hallway flashed with lightning, revealing the creature for a split second before it vanished in the darkness.

For the seventh day in a row, it rained.


	4. The Risks of the Job

The rain quickly turned into an all-out storm. Lightning flashed, thunder roared, and each water droplet hit the ground like a bullet. To Jaune, it was all muted, far-away. His world consisted of Pyrrha's soft breathing, as if just beside his ear, and the weight of her back against his chest.

Then Lie Ren took his hand off his shoulder, and everything came flooding in at once, a merciless onslaught on his senses. He winced at the sound of the storm and the flickering lights of the hallway. Looking towards where the beast had run, he saw nothing but darkness. It was somewhere out there, skulking in the streets of Suisen, the scent of hundreds of vulnerable people surrounding it. He needed to do something before-

Jaune heard Pyrrha cough, and forgot about the Grimm entirely. He held her tight and dropped into a crouch, laying her down on the floor with her head on his knee. She looked at him, wide-eyed, and gestured at her neck.

"Is she hurt?" Lie crouched beside Jaune. "How can we help-"

"Back off!" Jaune snapped at him, then in a softer tone said, "I've got this."

Lie shuffled off, and Jaune focused his attention on Pyrrha. A thick line ran across the skin of her neck where the Grimm had held her in its claws. Jaune shuddered to think what would have happened if he'd been five seconds later to get it off her – it would probably have started drawing blood, a lot of blood, if not crushed her throat the instant her Aura failed.

Pyrrha coughed again, a violent sound that was somehow a whimper at the same time. Her eyelids dropped for a second, before she went wide-eyed again, grasping at the air with one hand before she found his arm and latched onto it.

"Just look at me, Pyr," Jaune said. "You're going to be fine. I'll have you fixed up in a second."

She looked at him and nodded faintly, her eyes closing halfway. Careful not to hurt her, Jaune laid a hand on her neck and activated his Semblance. Same as her, he had lost a lot of Aura in the struggle against the Grimm, particularly when he'd had the brilliant idea of using some to hold it down while Nora ran. But he still had enough left in the tank to supplement Pyrrha's own, and accelerate her healing.

After a minute, Jaune took his hand off Pyrrha's neck. The wound was gone, the skin in that area pristine once again. She coughed one last time, and seemed to notice she didn't need to do that anymore.

"Thank you," she said, sitting up. "We have to-"

"Hold on, you're still injured," Jaune said, looking at the numerous bruises all over her body, not to mention the broken and bloody mess that was her nose. "Let me finish healing you before we do anything crazy."

"We don't have time for that," Pyrrha said. "And you have to look after yourself first. You're hurt too."

She touched the side of his head, tangling her fingers in his hair, then took them back to show him. They were red with blood. Blinking, Jaune felt where she'd touched him, and traced his finger along a not-so-thin cut along his scalp. Right. He'd hit his head so hard on the vending machine, he'd almost passed out then and there. Funny how he hadn't felt that until now.

"It's nothing," Jaune said. "But you-"

"It's the same. It can wait," Pyrrha said. "We can't rest while that Grimm is out there. It's not – it's like nothing I've seen before. And if it overpowered us so easily, think what it'll do to an unsuspecting civilian."

She got up, and before Jaune could do a think about it, limped towards where the Grimm had gone. There was definitely something wrong with her leg too. Jaune cursed and went after her, passing Lie and Nora – the first seemingly deep in thought, and the latter looking at the darkness and her kinda-saviors in concern. He reached Pyrrha just at the edge of the storm, and pulled her back by the wrist.

"Pyrrha, what are you thinking?" he said. "That thing almost killed both of us. It would have, if it weren't for Lie. What do you think is gonna happen when we find it – _if_ we even find it?"

"It'll try to kill us again," Pyrrha said, calling her shield to her and fixing it on her back. "I understand the risk, Jaune. We lived by the skin of our teeth the first time. But what choice do we have? To gather our strength and let it roam free in the meanwhile?"

"Look, I want to go after that thing as much as you do. The thought that it could be killing someone right now – look at me, I'm – I'm shaking," Jaune said, and put his hands on Pyrrah's shoulders. "But we _can't_ go out there. Not without a plan. Because if we do that, then we're just gonna get killed, and what good will that do?"

Truthfully, he would absolutely have gone out in the storm to find the Grimm, if it weren't for Pyrrha. It was one thing to risk his own life, and another to risk hers. He knew she would follow him no matter how he tried to convince her not to, just as he would follow her.

"Come on, Pyrrha," Jaune said. "You're the one who's always saying we need to have a plan of action."

Pyrrha breathed out, and laid her hands atop of his. "You're right," she said. "I'm sorry. Everything's just – crazy."

"Tell me about it," Jaune said. "So what do we do? Looks like our Scrolls can't detect that Grimm for some reason, and we're not gonna track it down in this storm. Do you know some old-school Grimm-finding technique I wasn't taught?"

"If only," Pyrrha said. "I should call-"

"Uh, hey, you two?" Nora interrupted her with a shout. "I think you've got an audience."

They turned to look, and saw a man standing at the other end of the hallway, coming from the motel. He had a raincoat on, and an umbrella to boot. Even from such a distance, Jaune saw the ghastly look on his face. It was a face he'd seen on many people over the years.

"Was that a Grimm?" the man shouted, his shrill voice rising above the storm. "'Cause a Grimm, oh. A G-Grimm…"

Pyrrha looked at Jaune. "I'll take care of this," she said, and nodded at Lie and Nora. "You go and talk to those two. Say whatever you have to say to get them to stay."

"Will do," Jaune said.

She brushed his cheek with the back of her hand, then parted from him. It hurt to watch her walk away, so much so that he found himself short of breath for a second. He looked out at the storm, then walked over to Lie and Nora.

"Hey," Jaune said. "You two doing okay? Anybody hurt?"

"Oh we're doing just fine, don't worry about us!" Nora said. "I mean, I'm still a bit freaked out about the huge monster that was trying to cut me into little Valkyrie strips a couple minutes ago, but aside from that-" Her left eye twitched. "Hunky-dory."

Lie nodded. "Your head is bleeding."

Jaune felt the cut in his scalp again. It stung, and his fingers came out just as bloody as before, but he didn't feel woozy or anything.

"It's nothing serious," Jaune said. "Thanks for pointing it out, though."

"You saved Nora," Lie said.

"And you saved Pyrrha and I," Jaune said. "So, you know, let's not get too grateful with each other, or else we're gonna form an infinite loop."

"That sounds good to me, 'cause technically I didn't do anything to save anybody," Nora said. "I did kinda push Ren to go help you, though. I'm a bleeding heart like that."

"I had that impression already," Jaune said. "Orphanages and all."

Nora looked at him, the corners of her lips curving in an involuntary smile. "You're not so bad yourself, mister. Even if you wanna abduct us and turn us into mind-controlled drones."

Jaune sighed. So she still had that attitude about Beacon. He wondered where she got those ideas from. Best case scenario, comic books and movies.

"That… that thing," Nora said, looking off into the darkness again. "It really was after me, wasn't it?"

"I think so," Jaune said. "Have either of you ever seen a Grimm before?"

Nora shook her head. "I mean, on the TV. That whole Vale thing was crazy. You were there, right? But that's very different from real life. Grimm don't look _that_ freaky on TV."

"Yep. And that one was especially freaky," Jaune said. "I've never seen one like that before, and neither has Pyrrha."

Lie looked from Nora to him. "Grimm are drawn to people, right?"

"Yes. To be exact, they're drawn to people's negative emotions, and that's a hundred times worse for people with Semblances – people like us," Jaune said. "But I've never heard about a Grimm zeroing in on someone like it did with you, Nora. It actually ignored me completely. There's definitely something weird going on with that."

Nora's shoulders tensed, all traces of a smile vanishing from her face as she leered at him. "It's notmy fault."

"I… wasn't saying it was," Jaune said.

Nora continued to glare at him for a moment, before she exhaled and turned away, arms crossed. Jaune looked at Lie, who simply shook his head in return.

"Look, I know this is the last thing you wanna hear right now," Jaune said, "but now more than ever, I think it's really important that you two come with us to Beacon."

"Oh great, this again," Nora said. "You're relentless, aren't you? You probably have to say that every five minutes to stop the explosive in your brain from going off."

"Nora, I think we should hear him out," Ren said. "It can't hurt."

"Yes, please listen to your boyfriend," Jaune said.

"He's notmy boyfriend!" Nora said, spinning around to face him. "We're not together-together like that. Just... together. Okay?"

Jaune blinked. "Okay," he said. "But like I was saying. You two have to come with us, for your own safety if nothing else. There's something strange going on with that Grimm. It might have been just a coincidence that it wanted Nora so bad, or maybe it wasn't. Point is, would you rather worry for the rest of your lives, or just come with us and clear everything up over a couple days?"

Nora huffed, and Lie sent her a pleading look, which only served to make her angrier. She started to say something to him, which Jaune tuned out as he saw Pyrrha walking back over to them. He turned, relief filling him, and she took his hand the second she got to him.

"Everything good?" Jaune said.

Pyrrha nodded. "I just got off the phone with Ozpin," she said. "He'll be sending forces here to keep the populace safe, and hopefully track down the Grimm. He'll check in with us again as soon as he's done that."

"That's good," Jaune said. "What about the guy with the raincoat?"

"That was the motel manager," Pyrrha said. "Understandably, he was disturbed that a Grimm was wreaking havoc right beneath his nose. He got calls from every occupied room in the motel about what was happening outside. All those people, they were terrified. Jaune, do you realize what that means?"

It only took Jaune a couple seconds to connect the dots. "The Grimm had an all-eat buffet waiting for it right there," he said, "but when it lost us, instead of diving in on that, it ran away. So we don't have to worry that much about it hurting regular people?" He frowned. "Man, either this Grimm's really picky…"

"…or there's something fundamentally different about it compared to all the species we know," Pyrrha said. She looked at Lie and Nora. "Which is all the more reason for us to keep an eye on them."

"Hey!" Nora threw her hands up. "We can hear you. And we don't know what's going on either, lady!"

Pyrrha looked at Jaune sideways, and he gave a little shrug.

"Sales pitch didn't get a good reception," he said.

Pyrrha rubbed her forehead for a moment, before she gestured at Nora in defeat. "Please come with us?" she said. "Please?"

"Wow," Nora said. "That was kinda pitiful." She took a step back, alternating her gaze from Jaune and Pyrrha to Lie and back, before she sighed and shook her head. "Alright, here's the situation. My partner and I – _platonic_ partners – we're having a bit of a disagreement about this whole thing right now, so we aren't gonna have an answer for you anytime soon. But if you let us rest on it a bit, let us talk it over, we'll probably have an answer come morning. Sound good?"

"I suppose that is the best we can hope for," Pyrrha said.

She raised her hand, showing two keys, and tossed one of them to Lie. He caught in the air, and Nora leaned over to look at it quizzically.

"That's to your room. A favor from the manager, though I don't think he quite grasped what I was asking for," Pyrrha said. "We'll be staying in the room next door."

"Neighbors, huh? That's kinda cute," Nora said. "I should warn you, this place has thin walls." She wiggled her eyebrows.

"We'll… keep that in mind?" Jaune said. "Good night, I guess."

Nora nodded and walked away backwards, making a gesture with her fingers from her eyes to Jaune and Pyrrha. Lie looked at them apologetically, then went after her. When he reached Nora, he turned her around without a word, and then they ran through the rain to get back to their room.

"That girl's weird. And the guy was oddly calm considering what just happened," Jaune said. "…I like them."

Pyrrha hummed. "I don't think _she_ likes me very much."

"It's not personal, I don't think. She's got strong feelings about the Beacon thing," Jaune said. "Do you think they'll try to give us the slip during the night? Should we keep watch?"

"I don't think they'll be going anywhere in this storm. Not to mention the Grimm," Pyrrha said. "Let's not worry too much. It's not like we could stop them anyway."

Jaune was surprised to hear her speak with such defeat in her voice, but he supposed she was exhausted. If she was feeling anything like him, she probably had a headache too. He put an arm around her shoulders.

"Let's go to our room, then?" he said.

"Yeah," she said. "Let's."

* * *

Ren closed the door behind him, the noise of the ceaseless storm outside lessening somewhat. He turned and winced as raindrops splashed against his face, and gave Nora a disapproving look. She stopped shaking her head and smiled at him.

"Sorry," she said, dragging her foot in a circle across the floor. She looked at the wall separating their room from Jaune and Pyrrha's. "You think they're gonna listen in on us or something?"

"Probably not," Ren said.

"Right. But we should whisper anyway, just to be safe," Nora said, and hopped up to him. "We gotta talk fast, too."

Ren looked at her warily. Already he didn't like how this conversation was going.

"Okay, so I think the Argus idea is our best bet. It's pretty far away, and if we have to, we can take a boat from there to Atlas," Nora said. "There was a ten a.m. train heading to Argus when we looked earlier. We can take that one first thing tomorrow."

"Wait," Ren said. "I thought we were going to talk this out, not jump ahead to where we should run away to. We haven't even decided _if_ we're going to run."

"Well, I have," Nora said. "I just said that earlier to get those two off our backs. Ren, we're running."

Ren blinked. "And I suppose I have no say in that decision?"

"'Course you do!" Nora said. "Like, is there somewhere else you think we should go? We could take a boat to Vale instead, I guess. Would be a way longer trip, though."

Ren walked away from Nora and sat on the bed. He understood exactly what she was doing, and she knew it too. He could tell by the way she was avoiding looking him in the eyes.

"Nora," Ren said, "if we run away again, we're never going to stop."

"Okay, so we'll keep running. Forever." Nora rubbed her arms. "We'll have each other. How bad could that be?"

"It will be miserable for both of us," Ren said. "I don't understand why you're so opposed to cooperating with Beacon."

"Because, Ren, I've already said – they're gonna poke us and experiment on us and we'll be lucky to get outta there with all our organs we came in with!" Nora said.

"I know you don't seriously believe any of that," Ren said. "You're deflecting. What is it you're actually scared of?"

"I'm not _scared_ of anything," Nora said.

"You are, Nora," Ren said. "And there's no use lying about it to me, or to yourself."

Nora looked at him, lips stretching in a snarl, and for a moment Ren thought sparks might actually start flying. But after a stretch of silence, during which the storm outside only grew more violent, she turned and sat beside him on the bed.

"I… I know they're probably not gonna hurt us. And even if they do, we're tough. And they couldn't keep us forever," Nora said. "I don't want us to get hurt. But I'm not scared of that."

She opened her mouth to continue, then shut it. Her chin trembled as she turned her head to look at him, and Ren saw that she wanted to say something more, needed to. Something painful. Silent, he took her hand and rubbed circles around the back of it with his thumb.

"They're going to ask questions, Ren. About what we do. About Kuroyuri," Nora said. "They're going to find out."

"Find out what?"

Her voice dropped to less than a whisper. "That I did it."

Ren stilled. Tears danced in the corners of Nora's eyes, before she took her hand from his and covered her face.

He'd thought they had seen the last of this. That for all the pain, it was all in the past. And she was better. How foolish he had been.

"Nora," Ren said. "You know what happened in Kuroyuri wasn't your fault. You didn't do anything."

Nora slapped her hands on her thighs, glaring at him through the tears. "How would you know? It's not like you were even alive to see it."

Ren stared at her. He felt a spark of resentment at her words, but it was so faint to be inconsequential. In an instant, it was gone. And _that_ , out of everything, angered him most.

"You're right. There's no way for me to know what really happened then," he said. "But you don't remember any of it either. You're just as in the dark as I am."

"Oh, sure," Nora said, rolling her eyes. "But _you_ don't have to worry that you might have vaporized five hundred people. Anyway, even if you had done that, who cares? It's all in the past. Just water under the bridge, right?"

"Yes, Nora," Ren said. "Truly, I mustn't give a damn about Kuroyuri, or anyone who died there."

That struck Nora silent. She leaned away from him, a horrified expression spreading across her face as she realized what she'd just said. It wasn't something Ren liked seeing on her, but he didn't regret bringing it about either.

"R-Ren. I'm so sorry," she said, touching his shoulder. "I didn't mean it like-"

"I know," Ren said. "It's okay. I'm not angry with you."

And he wasn't. He only wished he didn't find that so bothersome.

"I'm sorry. This whole Beacon thing, and now that Grimm – it's too much," Nora said. "I probably should stop talking before I say something else that's really stupid and insensitive."

"Most insensitive things are, by nature, stupid," Ren said. "And yes. I think that would be wise, Nora."

"Okay. Just-" Nora tilted her head, opened and closed her hands several times, before she flashed him a smile that was apologetic and imploring and guilt-ridden all at once. "Can we please not go with them? Pretty please?"

Ren sighed. "Okay. We'll take the train to Argus. I promise."

A weight seemed to lift off Nora's shoulders. She leaned in quick to kiss him on the cheek, then turned away just as fast, collapsing on the bed with her back turned to him. He heard her mumble something about 'sleeping like a rock', and after a few minutes, Nora's snoring blended with the storm.

Ren rubbed his temples. Tomorrow, they'd be off to Argus. Running once again, from the world, and from the demons in Nora's head. Something he shouldn't have lost sight of.

He took a long time thinking before he got up and took out a notebook and a pen from his backpack. He ripped a page from the book and cast a look at Nora, afraid he'd disrupted her sleep. He ended up staring at her for a lot longer, guilt almost stopping him from doing what he had to.

In the end, Ren pulled through.

 _Big actions from a dead man_ , he thought to himself. Like a ghost, he slipped away from their room. Not a minute later, he was back, and then he went to lie next to Nora, where he eventually fell asleep.

* * *

"Pyrrha, I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna fall over and bleed out on the floor anytime soon," Jaune said. "You can, uh – you can stop looking now, I think."

Pyrrha humored him with a grunt, but did not back off in the slightest. Leaning over him with him sitting at the edge of the bed, she parted his hair with her fingers and looked closer. Unsatisfied with what she was seeing, she tilted his head to the side to get a new angle. No difference. Which wasn't exactly a bad thing.

"I think it's closed up already," Pyrrha said. "Or maybe it wasn't as bad as it looked in the first place."

"That's what I said five minutes ago," Jaune said. "But thanks for checking anyway."

Pyrrha stepped back, though not without some reluctance. Jaune looked fine, she had to admit. A bit haggard, but she saw no blood on him, and the few bruises he had were mild compared to hers.

"Okay, now let me look you over again," Jaune said.

"There's no need," Pyrrha said. "You've done more than enough already. You should conserve your-"

"Pyrrha, I've got enough Aura for the both of us," Jaune said, and crossed his arms when she didn't budge. "Okay, is this you being proud now, or just stubborn? 'Cause my Mom would say either of those stopped being cute a long time ago." He paused. "And yes, I'm channeling my Mom now. We're getting into scary territory."

He stared at her, and Pyrrha had to face the fact that perhaps he had a point. She was being obstinate for no good reason.

Finally relenting, she walked over to the bed. Jaune stood up, and she took his place at the edge of the mattress. He didn't waste a second leaning close to examine her, starting with her right arm, which had a large, purplish bruise on the inside above her elbow. He put a hand over it, and she felt his Aura flowing into hers to more quickly heal the wound.

It was a good sensation, and not only on a physical level. There was something about being tended to by someone dear, and for Pyrrha, Jaune certainly counted as such a person. The healing process made her feel safe, and warm, and a bunch of other pleasant ways. She felt inclined to hide that at first, but she reasoned there was no reason to with him.

"How's your nose feeling?" Jaune asked while he moved on to another bruise, lower on the same arm.

Pyrrha reached for her nose and gingerly touched it. Fixing it had been the first thing they'd seen to when they got to their room. They'd had to properly set it before Jaune healed it, or else she would have sported a crooked nose for the rest of her life. Or until she broke it again, which wasn't something she was planning on letting happen anytime soon.

"It still aches a bit," Pyrrha said. "But I think it's fine."

"Good," Jaune said, and gave a weary grin. "I advise no sneezing for twenty-four hours, if you could, Miss Nikos."

"I'll keep that in mind, thank you," Pyrrha said.

Jaune smoothed over a few smaller bruises on her right arm, and when he was satisfied there were no more, he moved on to the other. When his fingers touched her skin, she hissed and pulled away.

"Woah!" Jaune said. "Pyrrha? Is it broken?"

"No, it's nothing like that. Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Pyrrha said. "It's just that it's still numb."

Jaune frowned. "Numb how?"

"My shield got sucked inside the Grimm. When I pulled it back and grabbed it, it was like I got hit with a huge shock. I blacked out for a while," Pyrrha said, and gestured at her body in general, "which is when a lot of _this_ happened, I imagine."

"Damn. That's serious," Jaune said. "A shock, huh? What do you think happened there?"

"I have no clue," Pyrrha said, "which seems par for the course with that thing." She turned her arm back towards him. "You can touch it. Just be gentle."

Jaune nodded and resumed healing like before, though he only hovered his hand over her arm, rather than touch it directly. It was a slower, less efficient way of transferring his Aura, but it worked nonetheless.

As he tended to her, Pyrrha noticed him looking more and more at her face, and she knew there was something troubling him before he said anything.

"I'm sorry I didn't do more."

"What?" Pyrrha said. "You did so much. If it hadn't been for you, Valkyrie would be dead right now."

"You fought that thing head-on," Jaune said. None of what she'd said seemed to register with him. "I was out for most of it. Useless. And then when it had you-"

" _You_ held it off on your own. I should have been there with you and-"

"-I took so long to do anything. I didn't even get rid of it. And you almost-"

"-I should have come faster. Any slower-"

"-died and I didn't do anything."

"-and I would have lost you."

They stopped speaking and stared at each other. In the silence, the reality of what had just happened - of what almost had happened - sunk in, grim and unavoidable.

Jaune staggered back until he found a chair and fell onto it. Pyrrha felt a hole open inside her, sucking in everything that was her and spitting it back as despair. She nearly broke then, but by some miracle of strength – drawing upon some training she couldn't really recall – she managed to take in a breath of air, and steadied herself.

"This is what happens on the job," she said. "Close calls. And some calls are closer than others. We know this."

From his chair, Jaune nodded, though he still looked dazed.

"We can't think about what we could have done differently. That's only going to drive us crazy," Pyrrha continued. "We survived. We saved each other. That's all that matters."

Jaune nodded again. "We're here," he said. And then a moment later, more surely, "We made it and we're both here."

They fell silent, and bit by bit, Pyrrha felt the tension leave her body. Not entirely, as no matter what she told herself, the fact that they'd almost lost each other tonight stayed with her. It was one thing to know the risks of the job, another to accept them without problem. She had thought she was comfortable with them, but now she was having to re-examine that.

Looking at Jaune, she recalled what he'd told her about how he'd held the Grimm off. He'd used his own Aura to restrain it, which alarmed her to no end. True, he had more Aura than the rest of the team combined, and he was much better at manipulating it than he'd been just a year ago, but that didn't make what he'd done any less dangerous. It's what had allowed the Grimm to actually hurt him, after all.

Pyrrha wanted to ask him to never do that again. To be more careful. Even to retire entirely, and leave all the fighting to her. There was no reason he had to walk the same path as her.

But she couldn't ask him to do any of those things, just as he couldn't ask the same of her. Neither of them had any right to. As long as one of them was fighting, they would be in it together. To protect each other, if nothing else.

Like she'd told him before in the car - _this is it_. And though now that scared her somewhat, it didn't make it any less true.

Jaune rose from his chair and walked back over to her.

"Alright. Now that that little episode's over," he said, wiping his brow, "I should finish checking you. I want to check your leg, it looked like you were limping pretty bad before. Is that okay?"

Pyrrha looked up at him. "Actually," she said, "could we just lie down for a little bit? I kinda need that right now."

Jaune slapped his hands together. There was probably nothing she could have said that would have made him happier. "Yes, ma'am, right away," he said, and plopped down right next to her. "You're big spoon."

Pyrrha lay back and turned to face him, a frown on her forehead. "You do it. You're taller than me."

"By like a finger," Jaune said. "You're the one who asked for cuddles, so I get to choose who's big spoon."

"That's never been how this works," Pyrrha said. "You're making up new terms to benefit your position. That's trickery."

"Is it trickery when all I'm asking for is to be held in the loving arms of my girlfriend, and she's trying to make a debate out of it?" Jaune said.

"And _that's_ emotional blackmail," Pyrrha said.

Jaune pouted at her.

"Alright, fine. Roll over," Pyrrha said. "But I get to be little spoon next time."

With a little _yay!_ , Jaune rolled over to lie on his side. Pyrrha shuffled closer until she was pressing up against his back, and wrapped her arms around him. She rested her chin on his shoulder and closed her eyes. This wasn't her preferred position, but that didn't mean she disliked it.

She was actually drifting into sleep when her Scroll began to buzz behind her on the bed. Suddenly alert, she sat up and grabbed it.

"It's Ozpin," Pyrrha said. "I almost forgot he was going to call."

Jaune groaned, and a moment later sat up as well. "Your Beacon Dad's sure got great timing, huh?"

Pyrrha paused at the title Jaune had given Ozpin – she supposed it made enough sense – before she shook her head and accepted the call.

" _Pyrrha_ ," Ozpin's voice came through. It was difficult to hear him over the storm, so she maxed out her Scroll's volume.

"Director. I'm with Jaune right now, you're speaking to both of us," Pyrrha said, turning on speaker mode. "Have you deployed the agents to Suisen already?"

" _Yes, yes. That's all been taken care of and the situation is under control,_ " Ozpin said, and Pyrrha realized he sounded rather tired. " _Are you well?_ "

"We're both fine," Pyrrha said. "We can move out if there is any way we can-"

" _Are you_ sure _you are well? The Grimm, did it injure you? Do you need medical assistance?_ "

Pyrrha looked at Jaune and found him staring at the Scroll with his eyebrows raised. She couldn't blame him for being surprised – he had never seen this side of the Director before. _She_ had rarely seen it herself.

"We suffered some battle damage, but nothing that our Auras and Jaune's Semblance couldn't reverse," Pyrrha said. "We're safe, Director."

" _Good_ ," Ozpin said. There was silence from his end, and after nearly a minute had passed, Pyrrha started to wonder if something had happened.

Jaune gestured to her, and she handed him the Scroll. "Uh, Ozpin, sir? About this Grimm," he said. "Are you sure the situation's under control? Because that thing was _messed up_."

" _I believe you, and I understand your concern,_ " Ozpin said. " _But rest assured, for now, the townspeople of Suisen are not in danger of the Grimm attacking them._ "

"How can you be so sure about that?" Jaune asked.

" _Because it is a Nuckelavee_ ," Ozpin said. " _and senseless carnage doesn't entice them like it does most Grimm. That species takes a greater interest in more… extraordinary prey._ "

Pyrrha blinked. _Nuckelavee_ , the Ozpin called it. She'd never heard of that species.

"Have you encountered that kind of Grimm before, Director?" she asked.

" _Not in person, but I've read reports of past encounters_ ," Ozpin said. " _Knowledge of such creatures isn't something I want widely distributed, even amongst Beacon personnel. I hope you'll forgive me for not sharing with you earlier._ "

"It's no problem," Pyrrha said. "When you say Nuckelavee are more interested in extraordinary prey, do you mean people with Semblances?"

"That would make a lot of sense," Jaune said, nodding along to her thought process.

" _Perhaps. But not necessarily so. They can certainly develop an attachment to_ individuals _, that much I can say,_ " Ozpin said. " _The details aren't something I can convey over a phone call. Do you have Valkyrie and Ren?_ "

"They're in the other room," Pyrrha said. "Are they linked to the Nuckelavee somehow?"

" _That's what we seek to confirm,_ " Ozpin said. " _It is imperative that you bring them in the soonest possible. I can arrange transport to pick you up where you are and take you to our Haven headquarters. I will meet you there._ "

Pyrrha nodded. "Understood, sir."

She looked at Jaune, but he didn't seem ready to give back her Scroll yet. He had a serious expression on his face, his eyes darting left and right while he clenched his jaw.

"Sir… Director," he said. "Nora and Lie haven't agreed to come with us just yet. If they don't, are you expecting us to bring them in by force?"

" _If you find it necessary, then yes_ ," Ozpin said. " _This is quite a dire situation, Mr. Arc. Lives may very well be at stake."_

"Okay. Well, I'm just gonna tell you that's not gonna happen," Jaune said. "We're not gonna force them to go anywhere they don't wanna go. And I don't care how dire you say the situation is – you said you had it under control, so that's what I'm gonna stick with for now."

He looked at Pyrrha for reassurance, but she was so surprised, she couldn't even manage a nod. She knew Jaune's feelings about the mission, they had discussed it plenty, but she hadn't expected him to bring them up to Ozpin himself.

" _I admire your values, Mr. Arc,_ " Ozpin said. " _However, for this instance, I would think it wise to put them aside._ "

"No. You trusted us to do this thing, so we're gonna do it our way," Jaune said. "If you're not happy with that, then you can send your actual people to finish the job."

" _I see_ ," Ozpin said. " _And how do you feel about this, Pyrrha_?"

"I…" Pyrrha said. "I agree with Jaune, Director. I believe we can reason with them. The situation doesn't need to come to violence."

Ozpin was silent for a while. Pyrrha hardly thought he was angry, as she'd never seen him lose his cool before, even in the most stressful of situations. But that he was unhappy about her response and Jaune's, she had no doubts about.

" _I understand_ ," Ozpin said finally. " _Well, then – I have faith in your capacity to see this task through, however you go about it. But I urge you to keep in mind what is at stake. The more you delay, the more danger we will all be in. That includes the very people you're seeking to protect._ " He paused. " _I must go now. Act fast, and act surely_."

"Yes, sir," Pyrrha said.

"Sure thing," Jaune echoed.

Ozpin hung up, and Jaune put the Scroll down on the bed between them.

"So that was a thing," Jaune said. "Sorry for putting you on the spot there."

"It's fine. I should have brought that up myself," Pyrrha said. "I have to admit, Jaune – I wasn't expecting you to talk to Ozpin like that."

"Well, you know I've got experience standing up to authority figures," Jaune said, puffing up his chest. "I did that, like, _once_. I'm a total expert now."

Pyrrha chuckled. "You sure are."

Jaune stood up and walked around the room, stretching his limbs a bit. Pyrrha watched him move, wondering if they had made the right call. She was hopeful, but Nora had been very stubborn in every interaction they'd had, and Lie had only followed her lead so far.

"Do you really think we can convince them to come with us of their own accord?" Pyrrha said.

"I really don't know," Jaune said. "Maybe this Nucke-Grimm situation will put things in perspective for them. Or maybe it'll just freak them out more and they'll run for the hills."

"We'll only know when we try," Pyrrha said.

"Yup." Jaune turned around, and his brow furrowed. "Hey, since when has _that_ been there?"

He went to the door and crouched low, picking something off the floor. He stood up and showed it Pyrrha – a folded up piece of paper, seemingly taken from a notebook or journal.

"Lie?" Pyrrha asked.

"I'd never!" Jaune put a hand to his chest. "Not to you, baby. No way."

Pyrrha stared at him.

"Come on, Pyr," he said. "It was _a little_ funny."

"Maybe under different circumstances," Pyrrha said. "Are you going to open that?"

Defeated, Jaune opened the folded paper and read the message inside. It mustn't have been very long, because it only took him a few seconds, and then he was looking at Pyrrha with a smile on his face.

"What?" she said.

"Sweet vindication," Jaune said. "Hey, when's the last time you went to Argus?"

* * *

Away from the lights of mankind, the hunter shrieked its pain into the storm. Oceans fell from the heavens, the skies flashing with lightning, and thunder rumbled the earth beneath.

The hunter trashed on the dirt, its body a convulsing mass of dark and red. Clawed limbs shot out and pulled back into the black; hooves dug into the ground before vanishing once again. Jaws and eyes and horns and bones surfaced, two minds embracing and pulling apart in a battle for dominance.

And all the while, the anger. The fear. The all-consuming and excruciating echoes brought by the storm.

It couldn't go on like this. There was only one way to make the agony end.

Stirring, the hunter rose to tower over the plains, and walked again.

* * *

"Man, this thing sure is fancy," Nora said, whistling as she watched a train attendant pass them with a tray in hand. She didn't get a good look at what he was carrying before he was gone, but just the smell of it made her mouth water. "How haven't we done this before? Why doesn't everybody take the railroad everywhere?"

"Because it's prohibitively expensive," Ren said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, right, For a second I forgot we're poor," Nora said. "I mean, we _could_ be rich if we wanted to be. But it's better to be rich in happiness and spirit and good conscience and all that stuff, right?"

Ren nodded and squeezed her arm. "We should keep moving."

"Oops, sorry. Let's go."

They walked further down the train, passing the other people on the train, all oblivious to their presence. Nora refrained from stopping again, but she couldn't help but stare in wonder at everything they passed. She felt like she'd stepped into a whole new realm of existence, something more like from a movie than real life.

The other passengers, the ones who had actually _paid_ to be there, looked like exactly the type of people Nora expected to shell the money for a fancy ride like this, when taking a plane would have been way faster. The train employees catered to them with perfect smiles on their faces, though that quickly changed when they thought no one was looking. Lucky for them, Nora was no snitch.

The train started moving when they got near its middle, and Ren nudged Nora to lean against a wall. They held on as the train picked up speed, the windows rattling and the railway grinding underneath. After a few minutes, the motion of the train stabilized.

"Do we really have to go all the way to the back?" Nora said, groaning at the thought of crossing another fifteen or so coaches.

"It would be much safer," Ren said.

"But _Reeen_! Look, the train's moving, that probably means everyone's already inside their cabins. Maybe there's an empty one here we can take?" Nora said. "We'll be very careful not to be caught. I'll watch the door like a hawk, I promise!"

Ren sighed. "Okay. We can stay here if you can find a vacancy."

Nora cheered and pulled him along the corridor, peeking through the windows on the door of each cabin. A family of four; a couple sitting side by side; a lonely guy typing on his laptop; another couple, doing _way more_ than just sitting side by side – wow, some people _wanted_ their money's worth; another family…

"Jackpot!" Nora said, and Ren let her go so she could open the door to the cabin second-closest to one of the exits. She went inside, gave him time to squeeze after her, then closed the door and turned the latch that locked it. She pulled on a string, and a curtain fell over the inside of the door, covering the window. "Ta-ta! All safe. You can drop your Semblance now."

Ren reappeared beside her. "Good job, Nora."

"You're welcome!" She plopped down on the seats, and cooed at how soft the cushions felt. "This is so great! Ren, come on, you gotta try this out!" she said, and patted the spot beside her.

"Aren't we supposed to be watching the door?" Ren said.

"Just because we need to be careful, doesn't mean we can't enjoy the ride a little!" Nora said.

Ren sat down beside her and hummed in approval. "You're right. This _is_ nice."

"Right? I wonder if there's anything fancy in this cabin?" Nora said, looking around. "Do you think there's secret champagne stashed somewhere in here?"

"I don't think that's very likely, but you're welcome to search for it," Ren said.

"If I find it, you gotta drink it with me!" Nora said, sliding to the floor. "Maybe it's under the seats? Or in the ceiling! I hope there's glasses too, or else-"

A _click_ came from the door as the latch turned, and then it slid aside, revealing Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos standing on the corridor just outside. Nora stared at them, her jaw going slack, and they stared back at her.

Pyrrha raised her hand in greeting. "Hello again."

Ren waved back. "Hello."

" _What!_ " Nora shouted, and jumped to her feet. Remembering where they were, she lowered her voice. "What the heck! What are you doing here? How did you even find us?"

"We have our ways," Pyrrha said. She nodded to Jaune and they entered the cabin. With a flick of her wrist, she closed the door and locked it again.

"Sorry for the intrusion, but we were supposed to talk and you guys kinda ran off on us, so," Jaune said. "All's fair?"

Nora huffed and sat beside Ren again. "You two are the worst," she said. "You know this is borderline harassment, right? Nope, this is _full-blown_ harassment. We could sue you. Couldn't we, Ren?"

He sucked on his teeth. "I am not a lawyer."

Jaune and Pyrrha took the seats across from them, the former splaying out a bit and humming with the vibrations of the train.

"We understand that you're not happy with us. Believe me, I wouldn't enjoy being in your position either," Pyrrha said. "But this is about more than just the two of you now. Last night changed things."

"You mean the Grimm?" Nora said. "Haven't you taken care of it yet? Or your people have?"

"If you're asking if it's been killed, no, it hasn't," Pyrrha said. "It – the Nuckelavee - hasn't been seen since last night. But no one's been attacked by it either."

"We're pretty sure it's got some connection with you, Nora," Jaune said.

Nora thought back to the monster from last night. Just imagining it sent shivers down her spine. It was a being of pure, absolute evil, the kind she'd never seen before, and she had dealt with some truly despicable people over the years.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said. "I don't have anythingto do with that thing."

"You having a connection with the Nuckelavee doesn't mean you did anything wrong," Pyrrha said. "It's just the reality of your situation, and denying it won't make it go away."

"How do you know that? Because I don't see the Grimm here right now," Nora said, gesturing at the cabin. "I'm all open to attack, yet no evil beasties as far as the eye can see. Funny how that works."

"Nora, that thing wanted to kill you, and only you," Ren said. "You must know there's something strange about that."

She glared at him. "Whose side are you on, Ren?"

"I'm on your side, which means I want this to be over before something terrible happens to you," Ren said. "We have to stop running, Nora."

Nora sunk into her cushion. Ren was right, and she knew it. But that didn't make things any easier.

"Okay, so… Even _if_ I've got a connection with that Grimm," she said. "What does that mean? Do I have to, like, fight it or something? Kill it? Because I don't think I can do that…" She looked at Jaune. "You saw what happened last night. I turned into one of those dumb horror movie girls who only screams and runs and trips on a branch before she gets inevitably killed by the monster, and I'm _not_ like that. Ever."

"You won't have to do anything. You just have to come with us to Haven so Beacon can figure out… stuff," Jaune said. "We don't really understand what's going on here either, to be honest. The Nuckelavee isn't like anything we've fought before. But you must be important to killing it. Probably."

Nora raised an eyebrow. "You're not giving me a lot of confidence, mister."

Even Ren looked skeptical now.

"Look, it's important that you make a decision, and the sooner you do, the better," Pyrrha said. "But we won't be arriving at Argus until tomorrow afternoon. You have until then to figure out what you want to do."

"And if we decide not to go with you?" Ren asked.

"Well…" Jaune nudged Pyrrha with his elbow. "Saffron lives in Argus, and I don't think she's too busy with work these days. We could give her a visit?"

Pyrrha nodded, but her eyes remained on Nora. She looked intense – Nora had to wonder if she ever _didn't_ – but it wasn't quite in a scary way. If anything, she looked genuinely concerned.

"We have no intention of forcing you to do anything. Whatever you decide, we will respect that," Pyrrha said. "However, you should know that Director Ozpin, who sent us to get you, doesn't share the same mindset. He is a good man, and he won't hurt you if he doesn't have to, but his priorities are bigger than you or I or any one individual. The Nuckelavee is a serious threat, and he will spare no resource to end it." She paused. "I'd like to protect you from that, but I don't think I will be able to."

Nora looked at Ren, a sense of defeat crushing her. She knew they had no choice at this point. Even without the threat of Beacon pursuing them forever, she didn't think she could just keep living her life in good conscience. This Nuckelavee thing had Beacon scared, and somehow she was important to defeating it. What kind of person would she be if she left it to its own devices, to hurt people – to _kill_ people, even?

"Okay. We'll… We'll do it," Nora said. "Right, Ren?"

Ren took her hand and looked at Pyrrha. "We will go with you to Beacon," he said. "But if I get even a hint that Nora is going to get hurt, then we'll vanish, and you'll never find us again."

"We won't let anything bad happen to you," Jaune said. "You can hold us to that."

"Yes," Pyrrha said. She checked her phone. "The train will be making a stop to pick up more passengers in about six hours. I can arrange for Beacon to pick us up there." She stood up and nodded at Jaune. "We'll give you two some space until then."

"Yup." Jaune stood up after her. "Oh, I almost forgot. This is for you." He reached into his pocket and put two train tickets down on the table. "So you don't have to stowaway for the rest of the trip."

"You bought tickets for us?" Nora blinked. "How rich are you?"

Jaune shrugged. "Do you do everything without paying?"

"Touché. But thanks, we're definitely gonna make use of these," Nora said, snatching up the tickets and giving one to Ren. "By the way, you wouldn't happen to know where they stash the secret champagne, would you?"

Jaune and Pyrrha glanced at each other, looking very confused. Ren shook his head at them, as if saying _don't ask… go. Just go._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Sunday there will be no Juniper chapter, instead I'll be posting a Tales chapter featuring Ruby and Yang and... well you'll see. We'll pick up where we left off the Sunday after that! 
> 
> (trust me you want the break now rather than later)


	5. Anger, Fear and Pain

Pyrrha knocked on the door of the cabin. There were a few seconds of silence, then some shuffling, before Nora's voice came from inside, telling them it was okay to come in. Pyrrha threw a look back at Jaune, before she opened the door.

Nora was alone in the cabin, lying on one of the couches with her back resting against the corner. The storm raged on outside the window just next to her, filling the small room with constant pings from each raindrop that hit the glass. She stretched her arms above her head and yawned loudly.

"What's up?" she said. "I was just waking up from a nap. Is this important?"

"We're just checking up on you," Jaune said. "Where's Lie?"

"He went to the bathroom a couple minutes ago, I think," Nora said. "And it's _Ren_ , not _Lie_ , okay? He likes to go by his last name, so pretty please respect that."

"Sure thing," Jaune said. "Why, though? Because he only ever tells the truth?"

He looked at Pyrrha for approval, and despite her better judgment, she had to bring up her hand to muffle her laughter. If not the joke itself, she could certainly appreciate his enthusiasm.

"Yes, sweetie, that was much better timing," she said, and Jaune's face lit up in response.

Nora groaned as she turned to sit properly. "You know you're like, the thousandth person to make that joke, right? And it's not any funnier this time," she said. "And I should know, I've made at least half of them."

"Sorry," Jaune said. "I'll try not to make any more u-nora-ginal jokes from now on, okay?"

He looked at Pyrrha again, but this time she had to turn away in shame.

"This is awful," Nora said. "Can I just get killed by the big nightmare monster instead?"

"Tough crowd," Jaune said. "But it's okay, you can't win them all… especially against the Invincible Girl. Eh? Eh?"

" _Nora_ ," Pyrrha said. "What we came here to tell you – we have about an hour left before we get to our stop. There's already a Beacon jet waiting for us there, we'll take it and fly to the Haven headquarters right away."

"Wow, you're pulling out all the stops, aren't you? I almost feel honored," Nora said. "How's flying on a jet?"

"Do you get motion sick easy?" Jaune asked.

"No, but I've never been on a jet before. Or even a plane," Nora said. "Much harder to stowaway on those, lemme tell you."

"You'll probably be fine," Jaune said.

"There's a station another hour away from our stop, if you'd prefer to get off there instead," Pyrrha said. "It would give you and Ren a little more time. That's all we can give you, though. Sorry."

Nora thought for a few seconds. "Nah, it's fine. No point in delaying the inevitable. I'm sure Ren would say the same thing," she said. "You know what I wanna do before we get there, though? I wanna go to that fancy service car in the middle of the train. I bet they have a huge banquet going on all the time!"

"I'm pretty sure you have to pay for that, though," Jaune said.

"Well, yeah. That's why you're coming with me," Nora said, getting up. "I mean, you're kidnapping me, might as well be a decent person and pay for my food at least!"

"But we're not kidnapping – nevermind." Jaune sighed. "I'm feeling hungry too, anyway. Pyrrha, you coming too?"

"I might join you later," Pyrrha said. "There's something I'd like to discuss with Ren first."

Nora seemed to hesitate, before she shrugged and exited the cabin. "If you hurt him, I'll fry you dead," she said casually, and walked away.

Jaune looked at Pyrrha, his eyebrows high up on his forehead. "I'll, uh, see if I can get you a salad or something."

He hurried to catch up with Nora, and Pyrrha went inside the cabin. She sat down and crossed her legs, looking out the window as she waited.

Ren arrived a few minutes later. He appeared none too concerned to find Pyrrha there, with Nora nowhere in sight, as he simply sat across from her and nodded politely.

"Nora went to check out the service car," Pyrrha said. "Jaune's with her."

"Best of luck to him," Ren said. He stared at Pyrrha for a moment, all serious and contemplative, like he always seemed to be. "You didn't tell Nora that I tipped you off."

"I would be lying if I said we made it only out of the goodness of our hearts," Pyrrha said. "Well, maybe Jaune did. I figured if Nora knew you helped us, she would be even less receptive to coming with us. But if playing you against each other had been beneficial to our goal… It wouldn't have been my first choice, granted, but I would have pulled that card if the situation called for it."

"I appreciate your honesty," Ren said. "I'll tell her the truth once things have calmed down. She deserves to know, but now… Now is probably not the best time."

"Good. For what it's worth, I think you did the right thing," Pyrrha said. "Now, there's something else I'd like to discuss with you, regarding the events of last night."

Ren simply nodded, a response Pyrrha wasn't at all surprised by. She'd realized he was the type of person to not get phased by pretty much anything. He reminded her of herself in that way, to some extent, though she wasn't sure how she felt about that yet.

"Something Nora said earlier got me thinking," Pyrrha said. "She said before that, when the Nuckelavee appeared, she was paralyzed with fear. I thought that might have been a simple reaction to the Grimm – it often happens to people who have never been near one before – but the way Jaune described it, it was much more severe than that. My only conclusion is that must have something to do with her connection to the Nuckelavee."

"I see," Ren said. "Nora says she never gets scared, which isn't exactly the truth. She's afraid of a lot of things, but unlike most people, she never lets that stop her. She never freezes." He paused. "Something strange happened last night, definitely."

"Yes. And it happened to you too," Pyrrha said. "I wouldn't presume to know you well, but you don't seem to anger easily. Yet last night, when I came to talk to you in your room, there was a moment I thought you were about to attack me. And if I'm right, that behavioral shift happened the same time Jaune and Nora were attacked by the Grimm."

"You're saying I'm connected to it too," Ren said.

"That's what I think," Pyrrha said, "though I can't be sure."

Ren sat silent for a while, a solemn expression on his face.

"I don't think it was quite the same," he said. "Nora ran away from the Grimm. I wanted to run _to_ it."

Pyrrha frowned. "You wanted to run to it."

"I was furious. I wanted to make it hurt," Ren said. "The only thing that stopped me was Nora needed me. If it hadn't been for that…"

"Let's take that as a blessing in disguise, because you couldn't have hurt the Nuckelavee if you'd tried," Pyrrha said. "This is very concerning. All the more reason to get you two to Beacon as fast as possible."

Ren gazed out the window, silent and unmoving. Whatever he was thinking about, it seemed to occupy the whole of his attention.

"Do you really believe going to Beacon is the best course of action?" Ren asked. "I don't doubt you have good intentions… But I have to be sure, for myself, and for Nora."

"Beacon's mission statement is to protect the world, and therefore its people, from the threat of the Grimm," Pyrrha said. "Considering your circumstances, there's no safer place for you to be. And you can trust that we – that _they_ will do everything in their power to help you and Nora."

Ren nodded. "You used to work for Beacon, didn't you?"

"I did. From when I was a little girl, up to a few years ago," Pyrrha said. She noticed the shift in Ren's expression, that little glance to her face before he looked away, as if he wanted to say something but refrained out of politeness. "I know what it sounds like. Someone so young, working for an organization like Beacon? But I had a calling. It would have been wrong to ignore it."

"And when did that change?" Ren asked.

"I suppose it didn't. That's still me, just… in a different environment. With different people," Pyrrha said. "I think that's for the best. I would have never made so many friends if I'd continued working for Beacon. Or gotten a boyfriend, for that matter."

"I feel like you could have worked on that without making such a drastic change in your life," Ren said.

"Maybe," Pyrrha said. "But sometimes a change is exactly what you need."

Ren leaned back, crossing his arms and turning his eyes to the ceiling. "Maybe," he said. "I hope you're right."

* * *

"So, let me see if I've got this straight," Jaune said. "You're _the_ Valkyrie, like, that's your superhero slash crimefighter name… But that's also your actual surname?"

"Yup," Nora said. "The superhero name sorta came from the surname. But the story about the valkyries is way more important, that's what you should focus on!" She pointed a finger at him. "Also, valkyries are totally Mistralian folklore. Don't let Ren convince you otherwise."

"I won't," Jaune said. "Anyway, that's a pretty cool superhero name. Doesn't really hide your identity or anything like that, but…"

Nora snorted. "It's not like that's the goal. I _want_ people to remember me. _All_ of me. That's how you build up a cred."

"Sounds kinda inconvenient considering you've been avoiding Beacon all this time, but I respect the hustle," Jaune said. "And Ren's _the Ghost_ because he turns invisible and stuff?"

"He doesn't turn invisible," Nora said. "And sure. That's totally it."

They continued down the banquet line, Nora picking out so much food her plate was almost overflowing, and they weren't anywhere close to the end. Jaune was starting to regret agreeing to pay for both of them, but he supposed it was the decent thing to do.

The lights of the car were briefly overtaken by a flash of lightning coming through the windows. The accompanying thunder came a few seconds later, so loud Jaune felt it rumbling through him.

"Man, this rain just won't let up, will it?" Nora said. "Crazy. You ever seen anything like this? Thunder and lightning over and over, the whole sky falling down, for what, a week straight now? It's like those trashy disaster movies."

"I'm from Vale. The most extreme weather we get is when we have to put on long-sleeved shirts," Jaune said.

"Oh, I didn't know you were a Vale boy," Nora said. "Makes sense, I guess. But this kinda thing isn't normal in Mistral either, just so you know. It's weird as heck."

"I figured it wouldn't bother you, though," Jaune said. "Isn't thunder and lightning your thing?"

Nora stopped, her eyes losing focus as she gazed at her plate.

"I never said it bothered me," she said, and continued moving. down the line.

Jaune frowned, wondering what he'd said wrong – and then it hit him. Nora came from Kuroyuri. A town that had been all but destroyed by a _thunderstorm_.

Why was he such an idiot?

"Sorry," Jaune said, catching up to Nora. "I didn't mean to-"

"So how did you and Pyrrha get together?" Nora asked.

Jaune blinked. "What?"

"Was it a work thing? I bet it was a work thing," Nora said. "Like you met at the water cooler everyday – _oh, I killed so many Grimm last week, I think I'm getting a promotion – that's nice, today I went to the Populace Control Department and helped them fix a bug with the moon sky projection_ – and then one day she just went and dragged you into a broom closet and you were powerless to resist her."

"That… wasn't how it happened at all. I just asked her out on a date," Jaune said. "Also, moon projection? Nora, what do you think actually _happens_ at Beacon?"

"Play dumb all you want, mister, you don't fool me," Nora said. "I _know_ the Grimm are an escaped science experiment. My mind's eye is wide open!"

She made a wild gesture, almost dropping her plate and everything on it. Jaune stared at her in stunned silence, unsure how much of what she said she actually believed in. At this point, he was too scared to ask.

"But seriously," Nora said, looking away coyly, "you didn't _just_ ask her on a date, did you? It couldn't have been that simple."

"Well, it kinda was. But also it kinda wasn't," Jaune said. "It took a long time, and some… life experiences, until I felt ready to do it." He paused. "Are you trying to ask me for advice on how to get with Ren without actually asking me for advice on how to get with Ren?"

" _Pff_. No! Where did you get _that_ idea?" Nora said. "…He's really dense. I've posed to him in a towel, you know? I couldn't have made it more obvious." She sighed. "I guess it's just a guy thing. He probably thought I'm just really comfortable around him because we're such close friends."

"Probably. We can be pretty dumb at times," Jaune said. "But, uh, if you… did a towel thingy, he probably knew what was happening. Pyrrha never did anything like that, I don't think, but I did pick up some of her hints. Doesn't mean I did anything about it, though."

"And that's supposed to make me feel better? Oh that's great, Ren knows I like him, he's just not even interested enough to turn me down," Nora said.

"Look, I don't know how he feels about you," Jaune said. "I'm trying to tell you things aren't that simple. Maybe he doesn't know if he feels about you that way yet. Or maybe he's got stuff to work through on his own. You gotta give him time."

"But that _sucks_ ," Nora said. "I want to know right now!"

"Well, too bad! Sometimes you can do stuff, sometimes you can help, and sometimes you've got no choice but to be patient," Jaune said. "That's part of being partners with someone. If being with Ren is that important to you, then you've gotta get that in your head first, got it?"

Nora grumbled under her breath, picking up a bunch of stuff off the table and dropping it on her plate.

"Sorry if I was harsh," Jaune said. "Also, disclaimer, I am not an expert. Far from it. You probably would have done much better asking anyone else on this train."

"Hmm… There _was_ a couple getting real familiarwith each other when Ren and I were looking for a cabin before," Nora said.

Jaune blinked. "Okay."

"It's cool. You've probably got a point," Nora said. "I've gotta be patient with Ren… Even if patience is not my strong suit."

"Oh, it isn't? I hadn't noticed," Jaune said.

"Don't get smart with me, Vale boy. You're still kidnapping me, remember?" Nora said.

"Yeah, and later I'm going to copy your brain data and upload it into a robot double to take over your life. Oooh, spooky!" Jaune said.

"Ahah! So you finally admit it! You Beacon types are all the same…"

Jaune rolled his eyes, though he couldn't help but grin. Nora might be a bit of an oddball, but she was fun to hang out with, if a little too aggressive at times. It was nothing he couldn't handle, having spent his whole life amidst various headstrong people… but it was nice that Nora had toned it down a notch since they'd met.

A sudden clatter beside him sent him jumping back in fright. He turned to look at Nora, and found her red in the face, staring down at the broken shards of her plate and the food that had spilled everywhere. The other people in the car stared too, gasping and whispering amongst themselves, and with each passing second Nora's face became all the redder.

"Nora, you okay?" Jaune said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry about that, folks. She's very clumsy."

"S-sorry," Nora said, her shoulders slouching. "I don't know what happened. Guess I just slipped or lost my grip or something. Oops."

"Well, it would help if you were maybe a little more selective about your food? Do you really need…" Jaune trailed off. "Nora, your hands."

She blinked, then brought her hands up to her face. They were shaking badly – too badly, even for how embarrassed she was. The color drained from her face, and her eyes widened as she looked at Jaune.

"I think – that thing," she stammered, "the big bad monster thing-"

"The Nuckelavee," Jaune said. "You think it's-"

A loud bang came from the front of the train, and for a second the service car seemed to jostle off the tracks before it slammed back down. Carts and tables went sliding across the floor, and Jaune caught Nora by the shoulders as they went stumbling. She screamed something, but he couldn't make out her words over the screeching metal that only got louder every second.

Something splattered against the outside of the windows. The lights flickered off and on, and Jaune lost his footing as, in an instant, the entirety of the car toppled over and crashed.

* * *

Pyrrha pushed herself upright, her ears ringing. She felt the coolness of the window beneath her. It took her a minute to understand what that meant – that the car had toppled over to the side of the tracks, perhaps the whole train had. How?

Feeling along the right wall of the cabin, she found her Scroll and grasped it. Her first instinct was to call Jaune, but she put that aside and turned on the flashlight instead. She flashed it around the cabin, and cursed when she saw Ren knelt just next to her. He didn't seem to be hurt, but the strained look on his face gave her a start – his eyes, so unfocused, and at the same time so full of _rage._

"Ren," she said. "Can you hear me? Are you okay?" She tapped his arm. "Ren."

At her touch, his gaze suddenly shifted to her, and she nearly flinched at its intensity. He took a shaky breath, the noise cutting through the creaking of the train, and then he vanished.

For a minute Pyrrha sat alone in the cabin, with nothing but the darkness and the undying storm surrounding her. Every second was a battle against her own will, to stop herself from throwing all reason aside and running to find Jaune. It hardly mattered how much steel and lightning and whatever else stood between them – she would get to him, no matter the cost.

Then she blinked, and Ren was there again, one hold laid gently on her shoulder. She felt a calm wash over her, and the beating of her heart dulled until she could think clearly again.

"Sorry I left," Ren said. "I… had to take care of myself first."

"I understand," Pyrrha said. "It's happening again, isn't it? The Nuckelavee is close."

"Not close. It's _here_ ," Ren said. "Nora."

"She's with Jaune. We'll find them, but let's not lose our cool before that," Pyrrha said. "Do you think you'll be fine until then?"

"As long as I stay untethered."

Pyrrha nodded. If Ren's connection to the Nuckelavee was drawing him directly to it, no wonder he'd had to take a moment to himself. It was better for the both of them, in the long run.

She took her Scroll and unlocked it. First order of business, calling backup. A disaster of this magnitude wasn't something she and Jaune could take care of by themselves, especially with the Nuckelavee lurking in the shadows.

"If you're going to use that, I'm going to have to let go of you," Ren said, pointing at her Scroll. "It won't work otherwise."

"That's fine," Pyrrha said. "I'm trained for this kind of situation. You don't have to worry about me."

Ren hesitated for a moment, before he let her go of her shoulder. As soon as he did, he vanished from her sight, and Pyrrha felt the full scope of her senses return in an instant. It was a disorienting feeling, but she squared her shoulders and pushed forth.

Putting her Scroll up to her mouth, she connected to Beacon Headquarters and relayed the nature of the crisis and the aid necessary. Transport for the stranded civilians, medical teams to see to the injured ones, and as many strike teams as were available to combat a Grimm of threat level yet-to-be-determined.

Once she finished, she immediately called Jaune. The call connected, but after a minute of no response, Pyrrha was forced to give up on it. Her breath ran short, but she didn't let herself think the worst. Knowing Jaune, he was probably busy protecting Nora, or helping the people on the train. She shouldn't fear the worst.

Pyrrha looked at the ceiling – or rather, the left wall of the cabin, where the door was. "Okay. Ren, I'm going to force the door open and climb up there. I'll pull you up after me."

She pointed a hand at the door, and with a quick thrust, tore it from its hinges and set it off to the side. Getting a small running start, she jumped and grabbed onto the edge, and pulled herself up over it. Looking around, the corridor appeared to be largely undamaged. Hopefully the other people on the car weren't too badly hurt, having been inside their cabins during the crash.

She reached her hand back into the doorway, and after a few seconds felt Ren take it. Pyrrha pulled him up, and once he was settled, felt him draw his Semblance over them once more.

Ren nodded up. "Look."

Pyrrha looked at the windows above them, and for a moment didn't understand what she was looking at. The storm was terrible, but still not enough to block all sunlight while it was still noon. Yet all she saw was black. Then she realized she wasn't looking at the sky, but rather at something alive, something dark and viscous and of undeniably evil intent, slowly slithering past the windows toward some point on the back half of the train.

"The Nuckelavee," Ren said. "It's pulling itself back together."

"It must have stood in the tracks, and when the train hit it, it knocked it off course. But not without suffering some damage," Pyrrha said.

"It's not hurt. I… don't know how I know that," Ren said. "Do you think it crashed the train on purpose?"

"It was smart enough to stalk you and Nora in particular, and run away when it lost you," Pyrrha said.

"We need to get to Nora," Ren said. "She can't hide like me."

"Yes." Pyrrha pointed at the ceiling-wall. "I could tear an opening up there, and then we could run on the side of the train. That would be the fastest way to Jaune and Nora. But I think our safest bet is to stay inside. We can't risk losing you on the way."

Ren frowned, but he appeared to see the wisdom in her words. Pyrrha stood up.

"I'll go in front and open the way for us. You stay behind me, stay hidden, and _if you feel the draw_ , whatever else you do, scream my name first. Don't just run off on me."

"I won't run," Ren said. "I have to get to Nora."

"Good," Pyrrha said. "Focus on that thought."

She let go of him and turned around.

"Now let's go."

* * *

"Is it bad?" Nora asked, holding her wrists to stop her arms from shaking. It didn't help much, but it was better than nothing.

"I don't know," Jaune said. "The lights aren't helping much. But she'll make it. You hear that? You're gonna make it just fine."

He smiled at the stewardess he leant over, and she nodded with half-lidded eyes. A weak gasp escaped her lips when she moved, and she would have reached for her wound if Jaune hadn't stopped her. The metal tray was still there, buried nearly a fifth of its length into her torso from the side. Neither Nora or Jaune had seen it happen, and the woman wasn't in any state to tell them either, but they were working with the assumption that it had happened when the train turned and everything went flying.

"Okay, good news is, I can close the wound easy-peasy," Jaune said. "Bad news is, I've gotta get this thing out first, and there's probably gonna be a lot of blood before I close you up. It'd be smart to disinfect it before that, too, but I'm assuming you don't keep alcohol or anything like that in here?"

The stewardess shook her head.

"Maybe I can still find a first-aid kit somewhere?" Nora said. "Maybe I didn't look good enough before…"

"There's probably some in the other cars, but I don't think it's a good idea for you to be going off on your own right now," Jaune said grimly. "We're just gonna have to risk the infection."

Nora gulped. "Is there any way I can help?"

"See if you can find my Scroll. It's like a phone. I need to check on Pyrrha."

Nora nodded and walked away, crouching low to the ground as she searched for the missing phone. She didn't have much hope she was going to find it, with how much stuff was scattered everywhere, and the lights blinking on and off all the time. But having a task distracted her from the cold prickling on the back of her neck, and from the realization that she was the reason for all of this.

Behind her, Jaune pulled, and the stewardess's scream echoed through the car. Nora covered her ears. If only she hadn't been so stubborn before, none of this would have happened. She was supposed to be all about helping people, yet she'd only been thinking about herself so far.

"Okay, you're good! You didn't even bleed that much," Jaune said. "Do you think you can move?"

"I think so… Not fast," the stewardess said weakly.

"That's fine. Go that way. We got the door open for the others before, they shouldn't be that far ahead," Jaune said, pointing over his shoulder. "Go as far up the train as you can get, and find somewhere to lay down. See if someone can't get some meds for you."

He helped the woman up, then supported her all the way to the door, then came back to Nora. He crouched beside her, touching her shoulder.

"How are you feeling?" Jaune said. "Doesn't look as bad as before."

"Oh no, it's bad," Nora said. She felt an icicle dig into her spine, and her whole body shivered in accordance. "It's really bad."

"Well, at least you can still move around. You're not, like, catatonic," Jaune said.

"For now," Nora said. "I'm sorry, I can't find your phone anywhere!"

"Don't worry about it," Jaune said. "We'll figure something out. For now let's-"

A sound of slamming metal came from somewhere to the back of the train, reverberating through the car. Jaune jumped to his feet and reached behind his back as if to grab his sword, only to realize he didn't have it on him.

"Crap. Nora, stay behind me!" he said, turning to face the noise. "Unless I'm getting eaten alive or something, then you probably should run!"

Nora looked up at him with wide eyes. "You don't want me to help you?"

"Only if you feel up to it!"

The noise happened again, and again, louder as it got closer. Jaune raised his fists, and the entirety of Nora's body tensed as she prepared to either come to his aid or run like hell.

Again the noise exploded, too close for comfort, and the car shook back and forth from some impact. For a moment, there was only the rain and the thunder – and then there were footsteps. Pyrrha emerged from the corridor, her shield strapped to her back, and Jaune's sword held in her right hand.

Jaune's sigh of relief far outclipsed Nora's. The sword clattered on the floor as Pyrrha dropped it and ran to Jaune, embracing him for a few seconds before she held him at arms' length, checking him over with a fervor.

"Are you okay? I'm sorry it took so long for me to get here," Pyrrha said. "I tried reaching you on your Scroll but-"

"I lost it," Jaune said. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Are _you_ okay?"

"Yes. Some people were hurt but I did what I could for them. Are you sure you're-"

Nora was about to interrupt them and ask where Ren was, when she felt the mantle of his Semblance fall over her, and saw him crouching on her left, holding her by the elbow. She breathed deeply as her fear lessened – but it didn't vanish entirely. She looked at him again and frowned when she noticed the harrowed look on his face.

"Ren, are you hurt?" she asked.

"No." Ren winced. "Are you?"

"You don't look okay, Ren," Nora said. She looked at her own fingers. "And I'm still shaking. What's going on?"

"The Grimm… it's having an effect on me too," Ren said.

"You're scared too. You wanna run," Nora said.

"I want to run _to it_ ," Ren said. "Nora, I don't know what we're going to do."

Okay. Ren was starting to panic. This was not good. This was not good at all.

Nora squeezed his shoulder for a moment, then stood up and stepped away from him, dropping out of his Semblance. Jaune and Pyrrha looked away from each other as she suddenly appeared right next to them.

"Nora, are you-" Pyrrha started to ask.

"Nope, I'm freaking the hell out, and so is Ren," Nora said. "That thing is coming for us, and it's notgonna stop for _anything_. What's the plan of action?"

"I called for back-up. We should get help in half an hour, an hour at most," Pyrrha said. "We only need to hold out until then."

"I guess here's as good a place as any to make a stand," Jaune said, looking around. "We've got walls on our backs, so we won't get caught off guard. It's better than being out there, at least."

"No. We can't stay here," Nora said. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but we've gotta get out of this train."

"No, no, _I_ can't believe _you_ just said that," Jaune said. "You wanna face the Nuckelavee out in the open? Are you crazy? Why?"

"To get it away from the other people on the train!" Nora said.

" _Those_ people aren't being hunted by a two-headed giant Grimm monster!" Jaune yelled.

"Well that hasn't stopped them from getting hurt already, now has it?!"

Jaune grunted something unintelligible and went to pick up his sword. Pyrrha looked at Nora, frowning.

"She makes a good point, Jaune," Pyrrha said.

"You can't be serious," Jaune said. "What, you want to use her and Ren as bait? Because somehow their lives aren't as valuable as the rest?"

"It's not about that. It's about weighing the safety of a hundred people against the safety of just two," Pyrrha said.

"They're already the two people in most danger here," Jaune said. "We put them out there, we might as well be killing them."

"No, because they'll have us. We don't have to kill the Nuckelavee, we just have to protect them from it," Pyrrha said. "I wouldn't be suggesting this if I didn't believe we could do it."

Jaune rubbed his eyes. "This is insane."

The train trembled under Nora's feet, and suddenly she found herself on her knees, cold sweat running down her back. Ren crumbled behind her, popping in and out of sight.

A shadow moved past the windows, blocking off the light from outside. Pyrrha turned to face it, raising her shield, and Jaune moved to stand behind her with his sword at the ready. The shadow drew back, then lurched forward, colliding with the side of the car.

"Shit, it's trying to get in!" Jaune said. "Nora, Ren, don't-"

The Nuckelavee charged again, this time nearly toppling the car over. A roar echoed from outside, and then Nora couldn't see a thing as darkness enveloped everything. Metal screamed as they started to rise from the ground, and loose objects started sliding across the floor once more.

"What's it doing?!" Nora screamed.

"I think it's trying to lift the car, but the rest of the train is weighing it down," Pyrrha said. "Jaune, I don't think we have many options here."

"Okay, okay, we'll do your plan," Jaune said, gripping his sword nervously. "But what's the plan exactly? I don't see how we get away from here without it taking a chunk out of us on the way out."

"We'll let the Nuckelavee do our job for us," Pyrrha said. "I'm going to decouple the car. I'm gonna need you to boost me for that."

She kneeled and lay her hands flat on the floor, and Jaune crouched beside her and touched her shoulder.

"Everybody get ready. Protect your heads!" Pyrrha said. "In one… two…"

She clapped her hands on the floor, and amidst the storm and the roaring of the Nuckelavee came a distinct snap of metal from either side of the train. The car jerked upward as if suddenly unbound by gravity, the Nuckelavee losing its grip on it – and they went flying.

* * *

The impact was a sensory catastrophe of sight and sound and of dull pain as Pyrrha was tossed about without a hope of control. The only thing that saved her was that she'd been prepared for it, but by the end she was still just at the edge of consciousness.

When the car finally stopped moving, she slowly pushed herself onto her knees and looked around. The launch had sent them a good seventy, eighty meters away from the tracks, and then they had traveled another twenty or so meters once it hit the ground and kept going. That last bit of the journey had left a trail of displaced dirt on the terrain next to the tracks, and much of the car had been torn away during it – what little was left of it had been reduced into jagged edges and bent metal.

Jaune limped over to her side and pulled her up, helping her onto her feet. Pyrrha vaguely remembered holding onto him during the flight – or maybe _he_ had been holding onto _her_? It all felt like a blur now.

"I'm okay," Jaune said. "You?"

"Shaken, but I'm getting my bearings back," Pyrrha said, rubbing her temple. "Nora? Ren?" she called out.

For a moment there was no response, and Pyrrha feared her plan had backfired terribly, but then she heard the rustling of metal. Nora came stumbling around a bend in the train, dragging Ren along with his arm around her shoulders.

"We're good! I think?" Nora said, and narrowed her eyes at them. "Wait, has there always been four of you, or am I seeing things?"

"She's good," Jaune said. "Okay, we survived the first step. Now's the hard part. The Nuckelavee's coming, isn't it?"

"Oh, it is," Ren mumbled.

Pyrrha reached out with her hand, and Jaune's sword came flying to her grasp a second later. She offered it to him, and he gladly accepted it.

"I don't think it's safe for us to stay here. We're gonna have to fight it in the open," Jaune said. "Nora, Ren, you stay close, but you don't engage the Nuckelavee, okay? You might have to hide or cloak or whatever if we can't stop it."

Nora threw Ren a look. "I don't think he can do that right now. He's… not doing okay."

"I can try, but everything in me is telling me to run and fight that thing," Ren said.

"Yeah, I don't think that'd be a good idea for you to do that right now," Jaune said. "Nora, you hold him back if you have to."

"If I can stop myself from shaking, you bet I'll do that," Nora said with a shaky breath.

"I don't think there's much else we can plan, Jaune," Pyrrha said. "Let's move."

She climbed out of the wreckage, then helped Jaune get out too. After doing the same for Nora and Ren, she turned to rejoin Jaune, and looked towards the tracks. It was difficult with the rain and the flashes of lightning, but she saw the Nuckelavee striding towards them, a hulking mass of black with a pair of red eyes up high, and another pair far below.

Her blood ran cold.

"Say, i-is it my overwhelming fear, or did that thing get way bigger since last time?" Nora said behind them.

The Nuckelavee continued towards them, and Pyrrha felt the ground tremble under her feet as it got closer. Lightning flashed, and she saw the Grimm clearly for the first time. A thick body like that of a horse, with four hooved legs, and a bone-armored equine head rising from its front – and sprouting from its middle, a thin humanoid torso with limp arms far longer than itself, and atop it an impish head with curved horns and a forcefully-shut jaw.

What once had been two, was now one.

"It's not just you," Pyrrha said, taking out her shield. "It's evolved."

"Evolved?" Nora said. "I-is that a thing?"

"It is now," Pyrrha said. "Jaune, be ready to-"

"I'm ready." Jaune held his sword out before him.

The Nuckelavee set all its eyes on Nora and Ren, two seemingly independent pairs, but joined in their malicious intent. The horse head opened its mouth and uttered a glass-shattering roar, and the Nuckelavee ran forward.

Pyrrha dashed to meet it, Jaune beside her. He swung his sword, releasing his Aura in an incandescent slash that tore through the Nuckelavee's front legs. For a second the Grimm careened close to the ground, but in an instant its legs reformed, and an impish claw came swinging towards him as it passed them on its pursuit of Nora and Ren.

Pyrrha moved in front of Jaune, blocking the claw, and before it was gone, she grabbed it and held tight. She was nearly pulled off her feet, but Jaune wrapped an arm around her waist and grounded her. Together they pulled, and for a moment the Nuckelavee was suspended in place, its front legs raised to stomp on Nora and Ren, before it lost its balance and collapsed backwards.

The Nuckelavee twisted and turned as it got back up, and Pyrrha saw Nora run from behind it, dragging Ren with her. He shouted something, and they vanished.

Standing again, the Nuckelavee looked around, each head scouring the area for its prey, but they were gone. Enraged, it turned towards Pyrrha and Jaune and swung an arm towards them like a whip.

Pyrrha raised her shield to block, but Jaune acted too, slashing with his Aura again and evaporating the claw before it got to them. As the Nuckelavee regrew its lost arm and slowly walked towards them, Pyrrha grabbed Jaune by the back of his shirt and inched backwards with him.

"You have to conserve your Aura, Jaune! Don't make the same mistake as last time," Pyrrha said. "Our best chance is to stay on the defensive until Beacon gets here."

"I know, but I don't think we can afford to be pulling our punches right now," Jaune said. "Offense is the best defense, right?"

"Not if it gets us killed," Pyrrha said. "But I get your point. We have to slow this thing down somehow."

"Well it doesn't look like we can hurt it, so," Jaune said. He wiped the rain off his eyes, staring past the Nuckelavee. "The train car. Do you think you can use it to lock it down?"

Pyrrha nodded. "Yeah. But we're gonna have to maneuver back around to it."

"Then we'll do that, safe and slow," Jaune said. "And let's keep an eye out for Nora and Ren in the meanwhile."

Just as he finished speaking, Nora and Ren reappeared to the right of the Nuckelavee, as if they had been making their way to join Pyrrha and Jaune. Yet now Ren stood in place, unmoving no matter how much Nora tried to pull him away. The Nuckelavee's heads turned, its attention snapping immediately to them.

"Well shit," Jaune said.

"Get them away from it!" Pyrrha shouted, and took off into a sprint towards the Nuckelavee. She tossed her shield, directing it towards the imp head with her Semblance, counting on it being distracted – but at the last second, the imp's body limped to the side, avoiding the shield altogether.

Pyrrha pulled back her shield, aiming towards the horse head instead, but the imp's claws came forward to deflect it. She slid under the Nuckelavee's torso as it moved towards Nora and Ren, recalled her shield, and continued moving towards the train car.

She hadn't managed to hurt the Nuckelavee at all, but her intervention had given enough time for Jaune to position himself to defend Nora and Ren. He stood between them and the Nuckelavee, cutting its claws as they came swatting at them, then shoved it back with a projection of his Aura when it tried to trample them.

"Don't have all day!" Jaune shouted, looking over his shoulder.

"Come on, Ren, get moving!" Nora punched Ren's shoulder. "Snap out of it!"

Ren tore his eyes away from the Nuckelavee, his lips twisted in a snarl. Blindly, he took Nora's hand, and they vanished again. The Nuckelavee-horse roared again, and Pyrrha had just a second to be relieved before she saw its attention return to Jaune.

"Jaune, to me!" Pyrrha shouted.

Jaune ran towards her, rolling on the dirt as a hoof came down to stomp on him. Pyrrha turned away, trusting him to make it to her, and focused her attention on the train car. She thrust out her hands, feeling out the wrecked metal and beginning to pull it apart where she could – it was hard from a distance, and harder still because of the storm pouring down on her, but she drew upon everything she had to get the job done.

Then Jaune was beside her, infusing her Aura with his own, and everything became laughably easy. She pulled the metal into the air above her, shaping it into long beams and working the ends into deadly-sharp edges.

When the ground trembled once more and she felt the Nuckelavee draw close, she turned and launched the first beam. The Nuckelavee had no time to dodge – and likely felt no reason to in the first place – as the steel pierced it from above, running through its equine body and sinking into the ground below.

Pyrrha launched another beam, and another immediately after, their paths crossing on their trajectory to the beast. Each skewered the Nuckelavee from the front, running perpendicular to its body until they too sank into the ground, effectively stopping it from moving any further towards them. It roared and jerked in all directions, but try as it might, it was pinned to the spot.

"The heads!" Jaune said. "Aim for the heads!"

Gritting her teeth, Pyrrha commanded the beams to float above the Nuckelavee. She aimed them at it, and once they were all in position, brought them all raining down at once with a thrust of her hands, leaving just enough room between them so they'd not collide against each other.

And yet, while nearly every inch of its body was run through with the metal beams, the imp had somehow contorted its torso so that the head had evaded them all. The horse head, too, remained unharmed, thought it's neck was thoroughly skewered.

The Grimm's breath fell onto Pyrrha, cutting through the cold of the storm. It stared, in front of her and above, an ire only temporarily contained.

"This is insane," Jaune said beside her, his shoulders hanging low. "It's not dead."

"It's immobilized, at least," Pyrrha said. "But it's not even in pain."

"Well." Jaune raised his sword. "Let me see if I can change that."

He ran at the Nuckelavee and kicked off the ground in an Aura-boosted jump. Jaune descended towards the Grimm's horse head, turned his sword - and sank it deep, piercing bone and shadow.

The red in the horse's eyes dulled, and the imp limped to the side.

An eternity seemed to pass.

The Nuckelavee lay still. Jaune stood atop its head, holding onto his sword like his life depended on it. He looked back at Pyrrha, a mixture of disbelief and fear on his face, and she didn't know what to do or say. It couldn't be dead, could it?

Suddenly the horse's eyes flared a vivid crimson. For the first time the imp opened its mouth and shrieked, a sound so shrill and violent Jaune nearly fell from the Grimm, and then it _lunged_ forward, shattering the beams into pieces as it tore free its flesh. The imp's claws came up faster than Pyrrha's eyes could follow, closing around Jaune and lifting him high, and then they started to pull on opposite directions-

Pyrrha had never thrown her shield so hard in her life. It arced through the air, flying towards the imp's outstretched arms, and sliced clean through them. Pyrrha felt her heart leap to her throat as she watched Jaune fall head-first towards the ground, until at the last moment, he turned in the air and dropped hard onto his back right in front of the Nuckelavee.

Pyrrha ran to him, grabbing Jaune by the shoulders and hauling him back. The horse head came forward, tearing its neck, and his jaw snapped shut just short of reaching them.

Jaune's sword remained buried in its forehead. With a pull of her hand, Pyrrha drew it free. The wound it left behind glowed bright red, like the creature's eyes.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha said, dragging him onto his feet.

"I'm good, I'm good…" Jaune said, leaning on her. He grabbed his sword with a wince. "What now? This thing… It really is unkillable."

The Nuckelavee strode forward, tearing more of its flesh around the steel beams. Pyrrha lifted her shield in front of her and Jaune.

"Just survive," she said.

The Nuckelavee screamed from both heads at once.

"Easier said than done," Jaune muttered, spinning his sword. "But here goes nothing."

* * *

"R-Ren." Nora leaned on him, grabbing onto his arm. "We've gotta – we've…"

She didn't know what they were supposed to do. She couldn't think straight. Her head throbbed, and she shivered in the rain as her body was wracked by waves of hot and cold.

Ren's Semblance wasn't working. Why wasn't it working? She could feel it around her, trying to soothe her senses, and yet it had no effect at all. And Ren stood frozen, staring at that thing – that nightmare Nora couldn't bear to look at – and the hatred in his eyes scared her more than anything.

"Ren!" She shook him, but he barely budged. "Ren, please. I don't know what to do!"

The Nuckelavee screeched again – a terrible, echoed sound that cut through the rain and shook Nora's bones. She whimpered and hugged Ren. It was all she could do, short of running away, but she didn't think she had the strength to do even that.

She felt Ren move, and looked up at him. "Ren?"

He grimaced, closing his eyes for a moment. His Semblance faded away, as if carried off by the storm, and he opened his eyes again. He didn't say a thing, didn't even look her way, as he broke free from her arms - and walked forward.

Nora fell to the ground, the side of her face hitting the mud as all control left her body. She tried to get up and run, like her mind, body and soul were telling her to, but all she could do was lift her head to look.

She barely saw Ren through the rain and the blurriness of her eyes, marching towards the Nuckelavee with a grim determination. For once it didn't immediately turn its attention to him, perhaps preoccupied by Jaune or Pyrrha. Ren bent over as he walked, picking something up off the ground, and it was only after blinking several times that Nora identified it as one of the metal spikes that had snapped off the Nuckelavee moments before.

"No, you c-can't…"

Nora tried to get up again, and panted as her body refused to obey. With a grunt, she fought every instinct in her, and lifted her hand. She reached forward with it, and with a gasp clawed into the mud, and dragged herself forward.

Her stomach turned. She had to keep going.

She had to get to him.

Crawl across the whole world if she had to.

Her muscles burning, Nora managed to get on her knees. She pushed forward, faster than before, but the distance felt insurmountable. She craned her head back, still avoiding looking directly at the beast.

Ren! He had reached the Nuckelavee, and finally it started to turn to face him, just a second too late. He lifted the spike above his head and drove it into the Grimm's side, burying it so deep there was barely anything left for him to hold, and then he jerked it to the side and _twisted_.

Viscous dark flesh rained on Ren as the Nuckelavee reared back and howled. Nora felt it in her bones – not anger, not fear, _pain_. Surprising, unnatural, pain.

The Nuckelavee trashed, and Ren stood before it, shoulders heaving. Lightning flashed. A distant humming came from somewhere in the storm.

Nora got on her feet.

The Nuckelavee stopped moving, and its four eyes fell onto Ren. Without a hint of a warning, the imp twisted about, and swiped its left claw across Ren's chest.

Nora watched as he flew backwards and hit the mud.

He lay still.

The Nuckelavee stomped towards him, and Nora screamed.

" _NO!_ "

She ran, keeping her eyes only on Ren. Through the ground she felt the Nuckelavee coming in the opposite direction, and she prayed she would get to Ren first – and she did, sliding to her knees as a claw came swiping at him. It hit her instead, and she rolled on the ground with a stinging pain on her shoulder, before she got back up and put herself above Ren.

Trembling, she forced herself to look up. The Nuckelavee towered over her, a shadow that overtook the sky, red eyes like a demon from a fairy-tale – all for her.

She held Ren to her chest. It wasn't going to take him away from her. Not again.

A bright light fell upon her.

* * *

_Thunder. Lightning._

_Relentless rain._

_She kneeled over him, shivering and sobbing and calling out his name. She shook him by the shoulders and kissed his cheeks, but his eyes continued to stare emptily at the sky._

_The ground trembled. She felt something looming closer, and in the flashes of lightning she saw a shadow stretching over her, but she refused to look up. She only had eyes for him._

_Suddenly, the clouds parted, a bright light tearing through the sky and flooding everything in white. She pressed herself atop him and closed her eyes, and heard an anguished shriek echo through the storm._

_After that, she remembered nothing else._

* * *

Nora gasped.

 _What's happening_ -

Her feet were dangling in the air far above the ground. Something was pressing around her torso. Bony claws, lifting her up, trying to pierce into her flesh.

The imp's eyes stared at her – right in front of her.

She screamed and tried to trash free, but the Nuckelavee's hold was too tight. It stopped squeezing, and slowly brought her towards its face. Its jaw opened wide, and down its throat Nora saw deep red and sparkling blue.

Its teeth came closing around her, and terror seized Nora. She reached out, her hands finding the imp's neck, and sunk her fingers into it like a jelly. Without thinking, she yanked them back.

White exploded before her eyes, and her ears rang with the Nuckelavee's screaming. Something rushed through her body – a surge of electricity like she'd never felt before – and then she felt herself falling, falling, falling through the air until she hit the ground.

Firm hands pulled her up.

"Nora!" Pyrrha shouted in her ear. "Are you okay?"

Nora blinked. "I'm – I'm okay, I don't know."

"How did you do that?" Pyrrha said.

"What do you mean?" Nora said.

"The Nuckelavee, you and Ren hurt it. How did you do that?"

Nora looked up, only to turn away as white flooded her vision. She waited a few seconds for her eyes to adjust, then looked again. The Nuckelavee was stumbling without direction, portions of the horse's back and the imp's chest blown out like a bomb had been dropped on it. Black tendrils entwined across the gaps, quickly regenerating the lost mass, but that didn't seem to ease its agony any.

A number of fighter jets circled the Nuckelavee, hovering close with great floodlights pointed at it. A few seconds after Nora saw them, they started to rain down gunfire and lasers on it. It screeched and drew close to the ground, but somehow Nora knew all that firepower was doing nothing more than briefly delay its healing.

"Beacon's here," Pyrrha said beside her. "We're in the clear."

Nora swallowed dry and gestured vaguely at the jets. "That's not gonna work."

"I know. They're working on containing it," Pyrrha said, and gripped her by the shoulder. "Nora, I have to ask again-"

"Where's Ren?"

Pyrrha let go of her shoulder, an apologetic look flashing on her face, and she nodded to the side. Nora looked and saw Ren walking towards them, supported by Jaune alongside him.

"Ren!" Nora jumped to her feet. "Are you okay? I saw you get tossed like a doll and you fell on the ground and you weren't getting up and I thought you were-"

"I'm okay, Nora. I'm not even hurt," Ren said, and she gasped as he came to her and hugged her. "I was completely out of it. I guess it just… hit me hard because of that."

Nora held him tight. She would have held him forever, but the sudden lack of gunfire made her step back and look at the jets again. They'd stopped firing, but were still aiming at the Nuckelavee. After a few seconds, one of them shot again, but it was no regular weapon.

The ground trembled, and when Nora looked, she saw a metal pole sticking out of the ground close to the Nuckelavee. The other jets fired one by one, and more poles pierced the earth, until after a minute they had formed a hexagonal perimeter around the Grimm.

Its body mostly whole again, the Nuckelavee stood tall and roared. Nora felt the terror spike through her again, and saw Ren stiffen by the corner of her vision. The Nuckelavee charged towards them – only to bounce back before it hit its stride. The air shimmered in front of it, and the beast charged again, but each time it never made it any farther.

"Woah!" Jaune exclaimed. "…It's like a force field!"

Pyrrha glanced at him sideways, and for as tired as she looked, a smile brightened her face. "Yes, sweetie. It should keep it in place for now."

"For now?" Ren asked, stepping close to Nora.

"We don't know the Nuckelavee's full capabilities yet, and it's clear enough that it's grown stronger between our encounters, so…" Pyrrha said. "We're going to need to find a permanent solution, but this will have to suffice for now. Regardless, we should focus on getting you to safety first. And… I'm sorry it had to come to this."

She nodded to Ren and squeezed Nora's shoulder, then walked a short distance away to hail one of the jets.

"Nora, are you hurt? Do you need me to heal you or…?" Jaune asked.

"No, I… I think I'm fine," Nora said, looking at the Nuckelavee. The fear was a little better now, but she still felt it prickling at the back of her neck, and it made it difficult to think about things. Like that flash she'd had just now…

"So, like, I didn't just imagine it before, right? You guys actually hurt the Nuckelavee," Jaune said. "I mean, I stabbed my sword way in that thing's head… err, _one_ of its heads, and it kinda just shrugged it off. How did you pull that off?"

Ren shrugged. "I wasn't really thinking about any of it."

"Nora?" Jaune said.

" _What_?" Nora whipped her head around to look at him. "Why do you keep asking me about these things, I don't know what the hell is going on! I'm just trying to not get eaten alive here and you guys keep acting like I have all the answers! Back off for a minute, will you?"

Jaune stepped back and raised his hands. "Okay. Sorry."

Nora rubbed her eyes. She felt Ren touch her arm, and looked at him. He still looked disturbed by the Nuckelavee's presence, but she saw the concern in his eyes clearer than anything else.

"Actually, I… I think I might know some stuff," Nora said. "Like, I'm remembering things…"

"Remembering things? Like what?" Jaune said, frowning.

"Like… I may have seen that thing before… before all of this." Nora looked at Ren. "We both did."

Pyrrha rejoined them. "Did you say you've seen the Nuckelavee before? You've had previous encounters with it that you didn't remember?"

"Well, it was just the once," Nora said. "I think."

"When?" Pyrrha asked.

Nora took Ren's hand and squeezed it.

"A long time ago, when… when I blew up Kuroyuri."


	6. Kuroyuri

"If you could stand still for a moment, Mr. Arc," Goodwitch said. "That shouldn't prove too difficult a task, no?"

Jaune stopped himself from scratching his nose. "I'm a statue."

The steel tube descended around him and, after a few seconds, started spinning and whirring. Red laser lines traced up and down his body, and a bright light flashed on and off in front of his eyes. He wanted to turn his head away from it, but balked at the prospect of annoying Goodwitch even more.

"So, why is it we have to do all this testing?" he said, raising his voice to be heard above the machine's noise. "I get Nora and Ren, but why me and Pyrrha too?"

"Because you were in close proximity to the Nuckelavee. You might not have caused it any lasting harm, but you fought it and survived," Goodwitch said.

"Okay. And what is it exactly you're hoping to find here?" Jaune said.

"We aren't _hoping_ to find anything, Mr. Arc," Goodwitch. "You'll be informed of the results when we have them. Now, I do believe I told you to stand still?"

A couple claustrophobic minutes later, the machine stopped and rose to the ceiling. As Jaune's eyes adjusted to the light, he saw Goodwitch standing in front of him with a tablet in hand, and sitting on a bench behind her, Pyrrha. Though there was some concern in Pyrrha's eyes, it was comforting to see her with her guard down, after everything they'd gone through.

"I don't mean to sound impatient, Commander, but do you think it will take long for us to get the results from these tests?" Pyrrha said, standing up and rubbing Jaune's arm.

"I wish I could give you an estimate, Ms. Nikos. All I can tell you is that your bloodwork is already being analyzed. That should give us something shortly," Goodwitch said, and only after she'd finished speaking did she take her eyes off her tablet. "Quarters have already been prepared for your stay here. I assume you two will be sharing a room?"

"It's what we do," Jaune said, trying to catch a peek at the tablet. Goodwitch turned it away and shot him a reproachful look.

"And Nora and Ren, where will they be staying?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yeah," Jaune said. "When can we see them?"

Goodwitch stared at them, eyes flicking from one to the other. "Of course. I should have known." With a drawn-out sigh, she turned off her tablet. "Come with me."

She walked out of the room, and Jaune and Pyrrha followed behind her. The hallways of the Haven HQ were filled with agents , and chatter over Scrolls echoed off the walls everywhere they went. It seemed that half the Mistralian branch had been reassigned to the Nuckelavee crisis – because everything pointed to it being a crisis, and nothing less.

Jaune found the whole thing disorienting. Pyrrha, on the other hand, looked like she was home. After much walking and dodging, they arrived at a metal door, which Goodwitch unlocked with a scan of her eyes. It opened to a smaller, featureless hallway, and at the end of it stood another door. This one took a bit more time for Goodwitch to open, and when she did, Jaune felt a chill air hit his face.

"In, quickly," Goodwitch said, nudging him and Pyrrha inside the room. She went in right after, and the door clanged shut behind them.

Nora and Ren were inside, sitting side-by-side behind a metal table. Jaune met Ren's eyes for a moment, before he looked around at the space. It was a decently-sized room, but there was barely anything in it except for the table and two small beds in one of the corners – he had the impression they didn't belong there, so they must have been brought in recently. The walls and ceilings were made of tiles or plates, Jaune couldn't quite tell, so white he had to look away. And the air had a strange quality to it. _Dry_ was the best word that came to mind.

Jaune didn't like this room. It reminded him too much of a hospital. Looking at Ren, he didn't seem to like it much either, though he was remarkably well-composed despite everything. Nora, on the other hand, didn't seem to be doing too well. Her head was hanging low, and she hadn't met his eyes once since he'd entered the room.

"Hello," Pyrrha said, sitting on a chair on the corner next to Ren. "How are you feeling? Have they been treating you well since your arrival?"

"We're doing fine," Ren said, sparing a glance to Nora. He put a hand on her back. "We had to do some tests before we came here."

"Don't worry about them, it's all so we can make sure you're okay, and so we can get a better idea how to deal with the Nuckelavee," Pyrrha said. "Jaune and I went through the same tests, if that makes it any better."

Ren nodded. "It does. Thank you."

Jaune sat down across from Pyrrha on the corner closest to Nora. "I guess all the needles and the X-rays must have freaked you out, huh? We're gonna have robot doubles soon."

Nora finally looked at him, her chin trembling for a moment before she forced a smile. "Uhm, yeah. Copying our brainwaves and stuff… Not good."

"Excuse me, copying what?" Goodwitch said, standing close to the table. "Jaune Arc, what conspiracy nonsense have you been feeding this girl?"

"I haven't fed her anything except fancy train food!" Jaune said. "She's the one who's been trying to convince me of these things since we met. Come on, Ms. G, you know I'd never slander Beacon like that! I was your biggest fan, remember?"

"Oh, I remember." Goodwitch glared at him. "I remember very well."

Nora looked from the commander and back to Jaune, her downcast expression lightening with some curiosity.

"This isn't something I like to brag about, but I kinda hacked my way into Beacon," Jaune said. "It totally worked."

"You were detected within minutes," Goodwitch said. "The only reason you were recruited is because the Director decided to give you a chance, heavens know why. I will never fully understand what drives that man to make the decisions he does."

"Like I said-" Jaune grinned "-it totally worked."

The door opened, and the familiar sound of a cane clanking against the floor filled the room as Ozpin walked in. The mood around the table seemed to take a nosedive, with Nora retreating into herself once again and Ren becoming suddenly alert beside her. Jaune couldn't help but frown in the face of their reaction, even as Pyrrha stood up to greet Ozpin.

"Director," she said, her formality betrayed by the slight smile on her lips.

Ozpin paused before her, leaning on his cane with both hands, and Jaune was surprised to see the genuine relief on his face. Not that he doubted that Ozpin cared about Pyrrha, but still…

"Pyrrha. It's good to see you're unharmed," Ozpin said. "You _are_ unharmed, correct?"

"I'm worn out, but otherwise fine," Pyrrha said. "It'll take more than a single Grimm to take me down, sir. Especially with friends at my side."

"I would concur. Though it's no mere Grimm we're talking about. Two encounters with a Nuckelavee, and twice you've escaped unscathed," Ozpin said. "I'd call that good fortune, but that would be a disservice to your abilities."

"Thank you, sir," Pyrrha said, her smile waning a bit. "Though I wouldn't say I escaped _unscathed_ , not exactly."

"A poor turn of phrase. Forgive me."

Ozpin looked at Jaune and nodded. Jaune nodded back, trying not to take it personally that the Director of Beacon wasn't nearly as concerned about _his_ well-being.

"The room is in working order, Glynda?" Ozpin said.

"All within parameters, Director," Goodwitch said, glancing at her tablet.

Jaune looked around. "Wait, what about this room?"

"Every person with an Aura emits a particular kind of energy around them. Normally we can only detect that energy when it's amplified by the use of a Semblance, but Grimm are severely more sensitive to it even at a passive level," Goodwitch said. "This chamber was built to contain such energy so that no Grimm, no matter how powerful, may detect it from outside these walls."

"Oh, I get it," Jaune said. "It's just like lead and x-ray vision."

"…Yes, Mr. Arc. Just like that," Goodwitch said. "I can see you still get most of your knowledge from superhero comics."

Jaune shrugged. "They've never failed me before."

"So you think the Nuckelavee has been tracking Nora and Ren by detecting their Aura?" Pyrrha said.

"It's a working theory," Goodwitch said.

Jaune rubbed the corner of his eyes. Theory this, theory that. He missed being in the know about things. Though even back then, he hadn't been privy to every little detail of Beacon's operations.

Ozpin sat down across Nora and Ren, finally turning his attention to them. He stared from behind his glasses, his face inscrutable, and Nora refused to meet his eyes. Ren appeared more at ease, though with his hand being on Nora's arm, Jaune knew he was ready to vanish them both in an instant.

"I suppose I should introduce myself before you think me rude," Ozpin said, shrinking his cane and laying it against his chair. "I'm Director Ozpin, but Ozpin will suffice. And I already know who you are, of course. It's a pleasure to finally meet the pair of you."

Ren didn't say a word, and neither did Nora.

"I hope you'll forgive us the poor accommodations," Ozpin said, gesturing at the beds. "We usually provide our guests with a little more comfort than this, but I think you'll agree that your safety is the more pressing issue at the moment."

Ren nodded. "Thank you for the refuge."

"To protect those in need is, and always will be, Beacon's top priority," Ozpin said. "But I won't mince words with you. I think you realize you're not only here because you need protection. By some stroke of fate, you two have found yourselves connected to a very grave threat, and it is unfortunate that we will need your cooperation to see it ended. I hope you can see what is at stake here. The Nuckelavee might be contained for now, but we don't know how long that will last. And when it breaks free and cannot find its prey, then we shall truly have a crisis on our hands."

Jaune exhaled loudly. He wasn't even the one being talked to, but he still felt pressured to do everything he could to help. He supposed there was a reason Ozpin had gotten to the position of Director, after all.

"We will do what we can to help with the situation, Director," Ren said, squeezing Nora's hand. "But we won't put ourselves in harm's way again."

"And we wouldn't ask you to," Ozpin said. "Twice has been two times too many already, I'd say."

Nora finally spoke, still not looking at him. "How are we supposed to help? Won't the tests be enough?"

"They will be useful," Ozpin said, and nothing more.

"Director Ozpin, when we talked on the phone before, you said there had been other encounters with other Nuckelavees before. You sounded like you knew some stuff," Jaune said. "Do you have any idea how this one's connected to Nora and Ren?"

"I _had_ an idea, but Nuckelavees come in many forms, and this one… I have to admit your recounting of your encounters with it has forced me to reconsider some of my thoughts," Ozpin said. "I still believe I'm on the right track, but I need to be sure before I make any conclusions. Yes, the tests will help with that. But Ms. Valkyrie, I believe you made mention of a past encounter with the Grimm?"

Nora gripped the table, the color escaping her face.

"Ms. Valkyrie, any information you have might be imperative to vanquishing the Nuckelavee," Ozpin said. "Nothing you say will leave this room, and you will face no judgment or consequence."

"You can trust him, Nora," Pyrrha said.

"And if not him, you can trust us," Jaune said. "We promised we'd have your backs, remember?"

Nora breathed in deep. "It's about Kuroyuri…"

Ozpin's expression didn't change, but Jaune could see he was paying rapt attention to Nora's every word. She was silent for a while, before she opened her mouth to continue, only to close it again immediately.

"I… I don't know if I can do this," Nora said. "Ren, can you help me?"

"Nora, you know I remember barely anything from that day," Ren said quietly. "And I believe you, but I don't remember any Grimm."

"I know. Just…" Nora said. "Just help me get there, okay? Talk about the stuff before that. Like how we met."

Ren stared at her for a moment, before he turned to the Director.

"We have plenty of time while we wait for the results to come in," Ozpin said, nodding at Goodwitch.

"Okay," Ren said. "Where to start…"

* * *

"And you have to be careful to water them just the right amount. Too much, and you'll drown them; but too little, and they'll dry up and wither. And it also varies from plant to plant, so if you're not sure about – you're not even listening to me, are you?"

Lie jumped and dropped his yo-yo, pretending to not have been playing with it just a second before. "No, Mother, I was listening! I swear!"

Mother turned away from her flowers and fixed him with a disapproving stare. "Lie Ren, what did I tell you about lying?"

"That it's wrong," Lie said. "I'm sorry. I'll listen this time."

"Apology accepted. But you don't look like you're actually interested in my garden," Mother said. "You'd rather be playing outside, wouldn't you?"

Lie opened his mouth to tell her she was wrong, but remembered what she'd just told him and thought twice about it. "Yes. Sorry."

"No need to be sorry. You're being honest like I told you," Mother said. "You can go play. But don't go bothering any strangers. And get back home before dark. And take the sweets your father left you in the kitchen in case you get hungry. And-"

"Yes, Mother!" Lie yelled as he blitzed through the house, grabbing the bag of sweets on the kitchen table on his way out the front door. It was a perfect day and he intended to enjoy all of it and then some more.

He walked up and down the streets of Kuroyuri, exploring the merchant tents that always came around this time of year. He couldn't buy anything from them, since he'd forgotten to ask for some money before leaving the house, but the vendors were nice enough to let him look at the wares without scolding him. One of them even gave him a caramel apple free of charge.

By dusk, he started to feel his stomach rumble, even after he'd eaten the apple. He opened his bag of sweets and started to shuffle around for what he wanted, when he heard a strange noise nearby. It almost sounded like someone crying? He looked around for the source of the noise and, after turning around completely, saw a girl looking at his sweets longingly from the corner of an alleyway.

The girl's eyes widened when she noticed him staring, and before he could say anything she turned and ran into the alleyway, disappearing between two houses. Lie went after her, wondering what was going on, and it didn't take long for him to hear the sniffling again, this time coming from under the wooden porch of a house.

Lie lay down on the ground and crawled under the porch, where the girl was sitting. She backed away from him, not making a sound, but she didn't have anywhere to flee to. He stopped to stare at her. She couldn't be much younger than him, and she was the first girl he'd met who had ginger hair.

"Uhm, is everything okay?" he asked. "Why are you crying?"

The girl didn't say anything, but her eyes kept flicking to his bag of sweets. Noticing that, he held it out for her. She stared cautiously for a moment, before suddenly reaching inside the bag and stuffing a handful of sweets in her mouth, not even looking at them first.

When she finished swallowing, she looked at him again. "…More?"

"Have as many as you want," Lie said, giving her the bag, and she didn't wait to dig into it. "Woah! How long has it been since you ate anything?"

The girl looked up as if trying to remember, then just shrugged and resumed eating.

"My name is Lie. Lie Ren," he introduced himself. "What's yours?"

"Nora," she said between bites.

"You could have asked the vendors for some food if you were this hungry, you know," Lie said.

Nora looked at him like he'd just declared the sky was purple.

"You should try. I asked and a nice lady gave me a caramel apple," Lie said.

"That's because you've got nice clothes," Nora said, "and you're not smelly. They don't even let me get close."

"But you're starving! There must be someone you can ask," Lie said.

"They don't care," Nora said. "Nobody cares."

"I care."

Nora stared at him for a moment, then handed the bag back to him. She'd eaten all of the sweets, and she didn't look like she was the least bit sorry about it.

Ren looked up, peering through the wooden boards of the porch, and realized the sky was quickly turning dark.

"Sorry, I've gotta get back home before my mom gets angry with me," Lie said. "Can I see you again tomorrow? I'll bring more food."

"…Okay," Nora said. "Bye-bye, Ren."

"Bye, Nora!"

He crawled out of the open and ran away, and all the way home his mind never left the new friend he'd made.

* * *

Lie tried to see Nora every day after that. Any time his parents would let him, Lie would leave the house and go searching for Nora. Sometimes it took a while to find her because she never stayed in the same place two days in a row, but eventually she took him around the town to show him where all her spots are. This happened two weeks after they'd met, once she felt she could trust him enough.

Nora turned out to be a very bubbly person, which surprised Lie, considering she didn't have a real home and some days she went without lunch or dinner. Maybe she was that way with him because he always brought her food. But he was pretty sure she wasn't just pretending to like him, because why else would she hug him so often?

It was a little strange how she always called him Ren instead of his first name. After a while he started to like the sound of it, though, so he stopped correcting her. Sometimes Nora complained when he left, but he always said he had to, or else his parents would get worried. They didn't know about her. One day he asked her about her parents, but Nora just shrugged and said she "didn't have any".

The one time he stayed out a little too late, Lie got back to the house to find his parents waiting for him in the kitchen. His father was sitting at the table, his arms crossed, while his mother stared at him in worry.

"Little Lie," Father said, in his firm-but-also-kind voice, "is there something you want to tell us?"

Lie stared at his feet. "Sorry, I forgot the time…"

"You've been playing outside a lot lately," Father said, "and you're always taking food with you. Too much food for you to eat on your own."

"You're not in trouble, Lie," Mother said. "We just want to know that you're okay. Remember what we talked about?"

Lie nodded. "Okay," he said. "I met a girl a few weeks ago and we became friends. She doesn't get to eat a lot so I always bring her food. Should I not have done that?"

"No, no, son. That's a very kind thing you've been doing," Father said. "This girl, she's homeless?"

Lie hesitated to answer that. He knew his parents were good people, but he'd seen the looks Nora got from people. Like she was an animal, or worse, like she wasn't even there.

"I think so… She said she doesn't have parents," Lie said. "People don't really care about her, I don't think."

"I see," his father said. "And what's this girl's name?"

"Nora."

His father and mother shared a look.

"Well, Lie," Mother said, walking over and putting her hands on his shoulders. "We are very proud of you for looking after her. Would you let us help you?"

"Huh?" Lie blinked.

"How about you invite her to have dinner with us tomorrow?" Father said. "I'm sure Nora would love to try out your mother's food."

Lie smiled. "Okay!"

Unfortunately it wasn't so easy to convince Nora the next day. She refused no matter how many times he asked if she wanted to have dinner with his family, and the worst part was she didn't give him any reason why. He knew she'd really like the food, too. It was only as the day ended that she finally said she'd come, after he'd given up on asking.

The smell of delicious food hit them before they even got up the doorsteps. Lie opened the front door and went inside, and had to gesture twice for Nora to come in. She did so with her head bowed low, and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw his father waiting to greet them.

"Hello," he said from the kitchen doorway. "Don't forget to leave your shoes at the door, Lie."

Lie did so, while Nora stared at her own feet in horror. Her sandals were almost coming apart, so tattered they were, and there was a lot of dirt between her toes.

"And you must be Nora," Father said, walking over and crouching in front of her.

"Yeah…" Nora said shyly.

"Lie has told me a lot about you. Is it just Nora?"

"Uhm, no. I also got Valkyrie. I mean like… Nora Valkyrie?" Nora said, and that was the first time Lie had ever heard that name.

"That's a good name. It's got strength to it." Father stood up. "Come along. Mother's just about finished making dinner."

They went to the kitchen, Nora sticking very close to Lie. His mother was working at the stove, and she flashed a huge smile when she saw him and Nora.

"Watch the stove for me, dear," she said, trading places with Father. "And aren't you just the cutest thing! Come on, you two, let's sit you down. We're having egg noodles with meatballs tonight."

She pulled back two chairs at the kitchen table, and Lie and Nora sat down, and then she returned to the kitchen. Father then started telling Mother about how his day had been at work, and she shared some news and gossip she'd heard while running errands today. It was like any other day.

Nora seemed bewildered by it all, but Lie tried to make it better for her by telling her about school. He'd be going back in a few weeks, and although that'd mean his mornings would be taken up by classes, he'd still be able to see her everyday in the afternoon. He told her about his classmates and his teachers, and about some of the stuff he'd learned last year – that last part bored her a bit.

Mother put the food on the table, and she and Father sat down. She served Nora first, three huge spoonfuls of noodles and the meatballs to go with it. Nora just stared at her food, as if expecting it to start moving, all while holding her knife and fork awkwardly. Mother gave her a comforting smile and went on to serve Lie, Father, and herself – and by the time she picked up her own silverware, Nora had devoured everything in her plate.

"S-sorry," Nora said, but Mother only laughed and gave her another serving even bigger than the first.

They ate happily, and Mother glowed when Lie and Father complimented her food. Nora didn't have to say anything – the fact that she more than half the pan spoke for itself.

"You wouldn't happen to know where your last name comes from, would you, Nora?" Father asked as he finished eating.

Nora slurped up a noddle and shook her head.

"It's from a story. A folk tale from way back," Father said. "Would you like me to tell it to you?"

Nora nodded, and Father started telling her about warriors that came from the sky to fight evil and protect the innocent. Lie listened too. His father knew a lot of stories, but he'd told him this one before.

When everyone had finished eating, Father grabbed the plates and took them to the sink to wash them.

"Did you like the food, Nora?" Mother said, smiling at her.

"Y-yes. Thank you, Mrs. Ren," Nora said.

"You can eat with us whenever you want. Lunch, dinner, it doesn't matter – I can always whip up another plate for you," Mother said. "And we have a spare room if you need a place to sleep. You can use our shower, too."

"O-okay."

Nora stood up and hugged her. She then stepped back, and was very still for a few seconds, before she suddenly ran from the room. The front door opened and slammed shut, and her footsteps echoed down the street.

"Nora, wait!" Lie jumped to his feet. "Where are you going?!"

He went to follow her, but his Mother took him by the arm and stopped him from leaving the kitchen. "It's okay, Lie. Leave her be."

"But she just left! Why did she leave, didn't she like dinner?" Lie said, tears in his eyes. "Did we scare her?"

"Oh, darling, no. Nothing like that," Mother said, smoothing his hair. "I think she just felt a little overwhelmed by everything. It's nothing to do with you."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Absolutely. She just needs a little time to herself to get used to things," Mother said. "Next time you see her, make sure to repeat what I said, okay? That she'll always be welcomed here. This house can be one of her… hiding spots, if that'd help."

Lie nodded. "Okay."

"Good." Mother planted a kiss on his forehead. "I think it's time you went to bed now. You've had a day, haven't you?"

Lie went to his room and changed into his pajamas. He climbed onto his bed and lay down under the covers. He could still hear his parents in the kitchen, talking in hushed tones about him and Nora and what more they could do and things he wouldn't understand until he was much older.

Eventually, he drifted into blissful sleep.

* * *

The rain was really bad. The worst part was the wind, howling outside the windows and shaking the whole house. Lie kept very still, sat on his chair with his arms around his knees. Mother had stopped him from going to school today, but he couldn't be very happy about it. Hopefully the rain would pass soon.

His mother came into the living room carrying a bundle of candles and matchstick cases in her arms. She dropped them on the table in front of him, and Lie peered at them curiously.

"What are these for?" he asked.

"In case there's a power outage," Mother said, arranging the candles on the table. "Storm like this, happening so suddenly, it will probably get worse before it gets better."

Lie paled at that idea. "Why did Father have to leave?"

"Well, not everyone in this town is as lucky as we are, to have a safe place to stay at a time like this. You know how your father is, he went to help them," Mother said. "I do wish he'd stayed with us, but I can't say I'm not proud of him."

Lie was proud of him too. He only wished he didn't feel so scared also.

"You know, we used to have storms like this all the time when I was a kid," Mother said, sitting down beside him. "They were really bad, so much that the whole family had to come to our house to weather it out. It was always very scary to me, but my grandmother always said it was just a part of nature, and while it might be bad for us, for someone else it was-"

A flash of light came in through the windows, and the lights went out. All of a sudden the storm seemed to get ten times worse. He could barely hear his mother speak over the water hitting the roof.

"Oh my," Mother said. "Good thing I got these in advance."

She lit a matchstick, then started setting the candles around the room.

"I hope your father got to a safe place before this," Mother said, and Lie was startled by the trembling in her voice. "Him and everyone else."

"Wait! Mother!" Lie shouted. "What about Nora?"

"You don't have to worry about Nora, darling, she'll be fine," Mother said. "Your father said he was going to make sure she was okay."

"But what if he didn't find her in time? He doesn't know her hiding spots, she could still be out there!" Lie said.

Mother returned to the table, looking very torn. "Well, do you know where she's staying today?"

"Uhm… There's a place with a garden and a spot next to it where she keeps some stuff. I think she said she'd be there, but I don't know," Lie said.

"How far is it?" Mother asked.

"Uhm, not that far, I think. It's in the park near the school," Lie said. "Do you think Father could get there?"

"I tried calling him before, but we've got no reception in this storm," Mother said. "Here's what we'll do, Lie. I'm going to take my car and get Nora. I'll be back with her before you know it. Meanwhile, you're going to stay here, and your job is going to be to keep all these candles lit, and to make sure all the windows are-"

"But you don't know Nora's spots either!" Lie said. "I – I have to go with you."

"No, absolutely not," Mother said. "You can't come with me, Lie. You're staying."

" _Please_ , Mom! It's Nora."

She crouched beside him, wearing a grave expression on her face. "Lie, you know I can't let you. It's too dangerous for anyone to be out there, especially someone your age."

"Nora's even younger than me. And _you're_ going, and you're always talking about how we have to help people and Father's doing that and…"

Mother sighed. She stood up and rubbed a finger on his forehead, a strange smile on her lips.

"My brave little boy. Why do you have to listen to what I say at the worst times?" she said. "I'll take you with me to that spot you said. If Nora's not there, I'm driving you straight back home-"

"But Nora!"

"- _and_ I'm going back to search for her by myself. I don't care if I don't know her spots like you do – you can tell me what to look for and that'll have to do," Mother said. "That's the end of it, Lie. Part of being good and brave is knowing when to trust people, and right now I'm asking you to trust me."

Lie bit his lip. After a long moment, he nodded.

"Okay," Mother said. "Go grab your raincoat, quick."

* * *

"I got in the car," Ren said, "and that's the last thing I remember."

There was silence for a minute as everyone stared at him.

"You don't remember anything at all?" Jaune asked, breaking the silence.

"I remember waking up on a stretcher," Ren said. "Everything in-between is just… a blank."

"If Ms. Valkyrie's claims about the Nuckelavee being present in Kuroyuri are true, a loss of memory would make sense," Goodwitch said. "The human mind will go to great lengths to protect one from past trauma. An encounter with such a Grimm, and at such an early age…"

"Yeah," Nora muttered darkly, "I think the Grimm was the least of it."

Nobody said a word in response to that, not even Ren. Jaune looked across the table at Pyrrha. Her expression was a warring mixture of pity and dread. Like everyone else, she could tell where they were heading next. Jaune wasn't too eager to hear it either.

Looking at Ozpin, Jaune wasn't too surprised to find him as inscrutable as ever. It was almost annoying.

"Nora, you don't have to finish this if you're not ready," Ren said quietly.

"No." Nora squeezed his hand. "It's… important."

Still, it took her many minutes to find the strength to start speaking, and she didn't stop until she was finished.

* * *

Nora couldn't stop shivering. The rain had started out of nowhere, and before she knew it, it had turned into the worst storm she'd ever seen. Normally her spot in the park garden – a tight space in the middle of a cluster of small trees – protected her from the weather pretty well, but it was doing her barely any help today. She was soaked to the bone, and the emergency food she kept stashed there was too soggy to eat.

She tried not to be scared, but it was hard when the wind was howling in her ears like a hurricane. She had a terrible vision of the trees around her being carried away in a tornado, and her going with them. That was not a good thought. And then there was the thunder and the lightning and the trembling ground and the flooded streets…

…and the blood-curdling screams. But she was just imagining those.

Nora wiped the water out of her eyes and rubbed her hands on her knees, trying to warm herself up. She just had to wait for the storm to ease up a bit, then she could make a run for Ren's house. It wasn't that far away, she could make it there before the storm got bad again if she just ran fast enough. She just needed to be patient. She just needed to _not freak out_.

Another scream reached her little spot, and this time she couldn't pretend it wasn't real. It was too loud, too close-by, and too… The terror in that voice. Was someone in trouble nearby?

Despite the fear, Nora stuck her head out between the trees. The rain poured on her head and made it hard for her to see clearly, but she made a thorough scan of the park. She saw no one, and looked again just to be sure. But she was alone.

She started to retreat back into her hole, when her eyes caught a dark shape walking down the street across from the park. Something in the back of her head screamed at her to look away, but she couldn't.

The shape, it was too tall to be human, its fingers too sharp. There were things on top of its head – horns. Nora was reminded of the pictures in the storybooks Ren's dad had shown her, of valkyries and ghosts and _demons_ -

But it couldn't be.

It couldn't be.

As she watched frozen, the shape drew up to one of the houses on the street, tearing the metal bars on the gate apart like they were nothing. It lumbered up to the front door, all lanky and twisted, and raised a claw above its head. It scratched it against the door, making deep lines in the wood until it found the doorknob…

Nora gasped and drew back. The demon stopped. With half the park and the flooded road between them, it turned and looked in her direction.

 _It saw her_.

Screaming, Nora turned and ran, slipping between the trees on the other side. She tripped on a root and almost hit the ground head-first, but clawed her fingers in the dirt and pushed herself upright.

She ran, though her knees stung and she could barely keep the air inside her lungs. She nearly slipped and cracked her head several times, and she had to leap and waddle across currents, but she never stopped, not for a second. She knew that thing was behind her, right behind her, snaking its claws around her neck-

Her foot slid on a curb, and she went stumbling into the middle of the road, knee-deep in water. She lunged forward in desperation, anything to keep herself moving, when suddenly a bright light blinded her.

Nora screamed.

Suddenly a pair of arms closed around her waist, and though she trashed and wailed, she couldn't break free. But no claws sunk into her flesh.

When she opened her eyes, she realized she was being dropped on the backseat of a car, and Ren was kneeling right in front of her. The door slammed behind her, and then Ren's mom jumped behind the steering wheel, wiping her eyes with her wrists.

"You're okay, Nora! You're okay!" Ren said, hugging her.

Nora was so relieved to see him, she almost forgot to be terrified.

"T-there was a thing!" she screamed. "We have to leave! It was like a - a demon!"

"You're just scared, Nora," Mrs. Ren said soothingly, even with the storm buffeting the car. "You're going home with us and everything will be fine, okay?"

"No, you don't get it! It was real and it was coming after me!"

"Lie, get her in a towel. You'll feel better when you're warm, dear."

Nora sputtered as Ren wrapped a towel around her shoulders. They needed to understand!

Mrs. Ren started to turn the car around, displacing the water around it in great splashes. The windscreen wipers were working in a frenzy, but it was still almost impossible to see. Yet as she completed the turn, Mrs. Ren suddenly let go of the wheel, her face going pale.

"What…" she said under her breath. "What is that thing?"

The ground shook, though there was no thunder or lightning. The car slid forwards a little, but Mrs. Ren made it stop. Nora leaned forward, and saw what had scared her.

Another demon stood on the road. It was different than the first – it was more like an animal than a person, like a _horse_ , but almost the size of a house. Its head was all covered in bone, and its red eyes shone through the storm like floodlights.

It took a step towards the car, and everything shook.

"Mom! What is that?!" Ren screamed.

Suddenly his mom sprung into action, grabbing the wheel and the gear stick. "Hold on, kids!"

She reversed the car at full speed, and Nora's and Ren's heads almost hit the ceiling.

"Wait, we can't go back!" Nora shouted. "The other one is that way!"

But Ren's mom didn't hear her, and continued to reverse the car as the horse demon stomped towards them. The earth seemed to jump with every step it took, and it left a trail of destruction on the road behind it. But at least it wasn't fast enough to catch them-

Nora heard a bang, and suddenly the first demon was on the hood of the car, its face pressed against the windshield as it glared at the people inside. For a moment the car was stopped, as Mrs. Ren stared back at the horned beast, eyes wide with shock.

Then she stomped on the gas, and they sped forward and around a corner into a new street. The demon hung on, one claw cutting into the hood, while the other slowly rose to tear through the windshield. But just as it was about to strike, they swerved into another street, and the demon went flying off. Nora saw it tumble on the sidewalk through the rear mirror.

Mrs. Ren uttered something under her breath, and though her eyes were scarily wide, she kept driving.

"Mom?" Ren spoke up, trembling. "What's happening?"

"I don't know, baby," his mom replied. "Everything will be alright. Don't be scared."

"A-are there more?"

"I don't know. And we're not gonna wait to find out. We're getting out of here - out of town."

"But what about Dad?!"

Mrs. Ren didn't reply for a moment. "He'll meet us there," she said. "Lie, I need you to take care of Nora, okay? That's going to be your job. Can you do that for me?"

"O-okay."

He inched closer to Nora on the backseat and wrapped the towel a little tighter around her shoulders. Nora realized she was still shaking – it felt like she was still running on foot from that monster.

"Shit!"

Nora jumped. Mrs. Ren had hit the steering wheel with both hands, and now she was turning the ignition on and off over and over again. The car hummed with the rumbling of the engine, but it didn't move forward even an inch, though Mrs. Ren was putting all her weight on the gas.

Mrs. Ren turned the car off entirely and sat back, and for a minute she didn't say anything, her eyes staring through the windshield vacantly. Nora felt Ren shrinking beside her. Despite her own shivering, she took his hand and held it between hers.

"Are… are we stuck, Mom?" Ren's small voice filled the car.

Mrs. Ren looked back at them, and her expression changed so dramatically, Nora thought she was seeing things. She had seen adults look angry before, or disgusted, even afraid. But Nora had never seen anything like this. Like nothing mattered in the world – nothing except her and Ren.

She didn't think adults were capable of looking like that.

"You'll be fine, kids." Mrs. Ren got out of the car, then trudged over to open the door on Nora's side. The backseat started to fill with water. "Come on, hold onto me. We've gotta get you out of the car."

She picked Nora up first, then grabbed Ren with her other arm. They each wrapped their arms around her, and Mrs. Ren wavered a bit before she adjusted to their weight. The water was up past her waist, and she had to make huge strides to move across it, but she got to the sidewalk and put them down there. Their ankles were still submerged, but it was better than having to swim.

"Okay," Mrs. Ren said, standing over them and turning them by their shoulders. "I want you two to stay together no matter what, okay? You're gonna move down the street, and you're gonna knock on every door and call for help. Scream as loud as you can. If nobody answers in thirty seconds, you move to the next house. Got it?"

"Okay," Nora said. "But what about-"

"I'll be right here watching you, don't worry," Mrs. Ren said.

She gave them a push, and Nora took Ren's hand and ran up to the first house she saw. She knocked on the door and shouted as loud as her lungs let her, asking for anyone listening to let them inside, but there was no response. Shaking, she dragged Ren to the next house, and this time he joined her in beating on the door and shouting.

The storm continued to fall. The sky flashed with lightning often, and Nora flinched every time as thunder followed. Ren's mother stood behind them on the street, watching both ways for someone – or something – to arrive.

Nora and Ren pleaded until their voices were hoarse, but no help came.

"Mom, no one's answering," Ren said. "I don't know…"

"Don't give up, baby, just keep going," Mrs. Ren said. "Just keep moving. Someone will-"

She stopped suddenly, and Nora knew exactly why. She _felt_ the demon before she saw it, shambling around the corner from where they'd come. It was still far away, but Nora felt like it was standing right in front of her, and as it moved towards them, there was no doubt in her mind what its intentions were.

"Forget help! Just run, kids!" Mrs. Ren shouted suddenly. "Get as far away as you can and don't stop running for anything!"

Nora turned to run, but Ren was rooted to the spot, staring at the demon as it walked towards them, dragging its claws across the sidewalk. Nora grabbed his arm and yanked on him, but he refused to move.

"Come on! Move!" Nora shouted.

Mrs. Ren looked over her shoulder and turned around. "Lie, you have to go now. Go with Nora. I'll be right behind you!"

Ren shook his head, and finally allowed Nora to pull him away. They ran away, down the rest of the street, and the last image Nora had of Ren's mom was of her standing on the sidewalk, her back turned to them as the monster quickly approached.

Nora tore her eyes away and kept pulling Ren along. They reached the end of the street, and stood still for a moment, staring at the road. It was completely flooded, the water running down to the right too furiously for them to cross safely. Nora thought she heard a scream behind her and tugged on Ren's arm.

"This way!" she shouted, and they turned the corner and ran down the street. Nora spotted a car stuck in the middle of the road, and pointed at it. "There!"

She took a running start and jumped, barely landing on the hood of the car. Her feet almost slipped before she righted herself, and then she extended her hand to Ren. He looked fearful for a second, but then he steeled himself and jumped too. Nora caught his hand and pulled him to her.

They climbed over the car and stood up. Nora's spirits fell as she realized the other side was still too far away for them to make it, even if they made a really big jump. The water would carry them away, and who knows what would happen then.

"What now?" Ren asked beside her. "I don't think we can make that, Nora!"

Nora looked up and down the street, her breath hitching – until she spotted a stop sign, slightly bent from the storm.

"I've got an idea! Just do it like me!" Nora said, and jumped towards the other side. She didn't make it, but she hadn't been expecting to. Water rushed around her ears as she went under for a couple seconds, before she broke the surface and reached out with her hands. For a moment, she thought she'd missed her chance – but her fingers closed around the stop sign.

The torrent kept pushing her. Nora gasped as she was whipped around and slammed against the curb, nearly losing her grip. She gritted her teeth, pulled on the sign, and somehow, managed to climb onto the sidewalk.

She kneeled on the pavement, coughing water out of her lungs, then looked up. Ren was still stuck on top of the car. Nora didn't see the monster behind him, but that didn't make her any less scared.

"You can do it, Ren!" she shouted. "I'll catch you!"

"Okay! I'm – I'm gonna-"

"Hurry!"

Ren jumped, and as he hit the water, Nora knew he hadn't made it far enough. Panicking, she grabbed the stop sign again and hung onto it with one arm, and reached out her other hand as far as she could. Ren came speeding towards her, unable to do anything but flail his arms.

Barely, just barely, their hands met. Nora gripped him as hard as she could. The sign bent a little more, and Nora suddenly felt a tearing pain behind her shoulder. She almost let go of Ren, but by some miracle she managed to pull him to the sidewalk.

"Nora!" Ren said, getting up. "Are you okay?"

"I-I don't know!" Nora clutched her arm. "It really hurts!"

"We've got to keep running! Mom said to keep running!"

Ren pulled her up to her feet and dragged her away. They ran without direction, crossing roads where it was possible and shouting for help. But they'd barely made a few blocks before they felt the ground shaking, and saw the huge shadow of the horse demon striding behind the houses on the next street over.

They came to a screeching halt.

"Turn around!" Nora said. "We gotta go back!"

But they couldn't go back. That way was the other demon, and though it was much smaller, Nora thought that would only make it harder to escape it. They could try and run past the horse, but it was so big…

They had no time to decide. Nora looked back and saw the arms of the horned demon coming around the corner, its skull peeking out a second later. But before it saw them, before they could do anything, came the loudest thunder Nora had heard yet, and for a split second everything went white-

A lightning bolt struck a house on the other side of the road. The shockwave sent Nora and Ren to the floor, and they covered their heads with their arms as cobblestone, dirt and bricks flew through the air. The house's metal gate was blown apart, sending spikes all over, one of them piercing the ground dangerously close to where Ren had fallen.

Screams mixed in with the noises of the storm. Nora looked up – there were people in the destroyed house, and the demon was striding towards it now. She pressed herself close to the ground and grabbed Ren, hiding them both under some rubble.

Ren stared with wide eyes.

"Maybe it won't see us if we stay quiet," Nora whispered.

They watched the demon walk towards the house, and the closer it got, the more horrifying its appearance became. Nora could see now that it was constantly twitching, as if being pulled by invisible string in all directions, and its mouth looked almost like it had been sewn shut. It had three claws in each hand, and there was something dripping from them…

Blood.

Nora looked away, feeling sick. Ren's breathing was loud in her ear, and as she turned towards him, she was startled to find he was perfectly still under the rubble. His eyes were fixed on the demon, and if there was any fear left in them, it was nothing compared to the fury that was quickly building.

He let out one quiet, trembling word. "Mom."

He started to shift under the rubble, and Nora made to grab him by the shoulders. "Ren, no! We have to stay-"

The demon, about to climb over the ruined gate a second earlier, stopped abruptly and turned in place. Its eyes zeroed in on the spot where they were hiding, and though its mouth didn't move, Nora had the most awful impression that it was smiling.

She stood up to run, but Ren was up even faster than she was – but he didn't run away, instead he ran _at_ the demon. Nora screamed and tried to grab him, but he was too far away.

The demon stood stiffly, surprised that his prey was running right at him instead of trying to flee, and in that moment it did nothing – until Ren reached it and shoved against the monster's midsection with all the strength his little body allowed him. The demon screeched in anger – and then in pain as a metal spike from the gate impaled him from behind.

The demon's screech grew into a wail so terrible Nora had to cover her ears, but she couldn't look away. The monster jerked, and Ren took a step backwards, his face twisted in fury – and then nothing, as the demon brought its right arm around in a blur of movement, catching him in the chest.

Ren fell on a deep puddle in the middle of the road. Nora ran to him and turned him around. Blood flowed from three gashes on his chest, and his eyes… his eyes were empty. Nora shook him by the shoulders.

"Ren!"

But his eyes only stared at the sky. She kneeled over him and kissed both his cheeks.

"Ren!"

Still, he didn't respond.

"Ren!"

The ground rumbled under Nora, and vaguely she noticed the shadow of the other demon as it stomped past her. It seemed to reach down with its head and bite into something before it pulled up again, and the other demon's wailing became even worse. Then it was quieter, but still there.

Nora didn't care. She refused to look away from Ren.

She only had eyes for him.

The world flashed with lightning more often than it didn't, leaving Nora's vision blurry as she tried to focus on Ren. She felt the big demon pacing in front of her, and heard a strange noise from above, a faint buzzing that steadily grew until she could barely hear the rain.

Nora was forced to look up. She saw the gigantic horse demon standing before her, the other demon laying limp on its back, smoke pouring from a hole in its middle. Above the monsters, far above, high in the sky, she saw something appear from between the clouds-

And then everything was white for the longest time. She felt something coursing through her, saw wisps of shadow in the white as the demons vanished in front of her eyes, and clutched Ren as the ground disappeared from under them-

And after that, she remembered nothing else.

* * *

Nobody said anything for quite a while. Nora opened and closed her mouth several times, like she felt like she had more to say, but her tale was over. There was nothing more to be told.

Ren was quiet. Quieter than usual. He seemed to be far away, not in the room with everyone else. His hands still lay over Nora's, but it had gone slack.

Jaune felt sick to the stomach, and it was only the thought of how much Nora and Ren had gone through that kept him from throwing up right then and there. He didn't want to make a scene. They deserved better.

Pyrrha seemed to be in a similar state as him. Pale, she was trying to keep her hands steady on the table, but she wasn't fooling anyone. Not him, at least.

Even Commander Goodwitch seemed affected. She had stood at the side of the table for the entirety of Ren and Nora's tale, all formal and serious, but at the very end she'd moved towards a wall and rested her back against it. Like Pyrrha, her face had barely any color on it.

Ozpin… was silent. But it was different than before, Jaune could feel it. He tapped his fingers on his cane, and for a long time, avoided looking Nora and Ren in the face.

"That…" Pyrrha was the one to break the silence, and she had to take a moment before she was able to actually formulate a sentence. "That was the lightning strike, right? The one that… set off the explosion."

Nora shifted in her seat. "Mhmm."

Ozpin clicked his cane, shortening it, and set it on the table.

"And you remembered nothing of this until today?" he asked calmly.

"Until we fought the - the Nuckelavee, yeah," Nora said. "I think that might have jogged something up there, you know? Brought back some… stuff."

She didn't sound as tense as she had at the beginning. Maybe saying everything out loud had helped make sense of things. Maybe she was just waiting to freak out later.

"And what is the first thing you remember after, if you don't mind telling us, Ms. Valkyrie?" Ozpin asked.

"That's easy," Nora said. "I woke up in some hospital in Suisen. Yeah, that was Suisen. It was where they took a bunch of the survivors and the injured. I found Ren awake, lying on a stretcher, and I was so happy that he was alive… But then I didn't remember why he _shouldn't_ have been alive, so it was very confusing."

She rubbed her forehead and sighed.

"Wait, so, Ren," Jaune said. "You were actually… you know…"

Ren met his eyes for a split second before he looked away, no response.

"He got better," Nora muttered. She looked like she was trying to smile, to make some levity where there was none, but it wasn't working.

Jaune slumped forward, almost coming to rest his head on the table. This was insanity. All of it.

"So it's true," Pyrrha said. "There really were Grimm present during the destruction of Kuroyuri."

"So it seems," Ozpin said thoughtfully.

"You didn't know? _Beacon_ didn't know?" Jaune asked.

"There were no agents at the scene. Personnel were dispatched to help with the aftermath, but of course, the Grimm were long gone at that point," Ozpin said. "Perhaps there was recorded footage from the citizens, but certainly none of it survived the storm _or_ the blast. If Ms. Valkyrie and Mr. Ren hadn't lived to tell the tale…"

"Then we might never have known everything that happened that day," Pyrrha said.

"But you _suspected_ it, right?" Jaune gestured at Ozpin. "I mean, you had to. You said you had to hear Nora out to confirm your theory or whatever, so you had _some_ idea that was possible."

"Yes, Mr. Arc, I did have my suspicions," Ozpin said. "When Pyrrha told me of your first encounter with the Nuckelavee, how it had targeted Ms. Valkyrie, and how she and Mr. Ren came from Kuroyuri, I started to connect the dots. But I couldn't be certain from just an extrapolation."

Jaune threw his arms up. " _What_ extrapolation? How do you even make that jump?"

"All in due time, Mr. Arc," Ozpin said, and looked at Goodwitch. "Are the tests done yet, Glynda?"

Goodwitch took a second to register what she'd been asked. She took out her tablet again, and after examining it for a few seconds, said, "I'll need a couple minutes to parse the data, Director."

Ozpin nodded.

"But the Nuckelavee we fought," Pyrrha said, "it couldn't have been the same Grimm that were in Kuroyuri. To start, they were, well, _two_."

"And yet you've never faced a Grimm quite like the Nuckelavee before, have you? A Grimm of seemingly two minds?" Ozpin said.

"You are right, but…" Pyrrha paused. "Are you saying they were fused by the blast?"

"Perhaps, or perhaps it happened as they reformed years after," Ozpin said. "Regardless of how it happened, the two Nuckelavee present during the destruction of Kuroyuri survived the day – and became one entity. A singular, colossal Nuckelavee the likes of which has never been seen before."

"Do you think… It couldn't have _caused_ the storm, could it?" Jaune said. "It's been raining like crazy for a week now. It's almost like the storm follows the Nuckelavee, or the other way around. But that can't be possible, right?"

"I am not so arrogant to declare anything impossible when it comes to the creatures of Grimm," Ozpin said. "Your theory has some credence, Mr. Arc. Though I venture to say that the first storm in Kuroyuri might have been the catalyst for the Nuckelavee to appear. We may never know."

Suddenly, Nora slammed her hands on the table.

"Are we going to talk about how I blew up half of Kuroyuri, or are we going to pretend that didn't happen?!"

Everyone fell silent. Goodwitch stopped whatever she was busy with to look over her tablet, a frown on her forehead.

"Nora… You didn't blow up Kuroyuri," Pyrrha said.

"Oh, well, that's great for you that – that you can be so sure of stuff that easy!" Nora shouted.

"You said you don't remember what happened. You don't _actually_ remember the explosion," Pyrrha said.

"I remember enough!" Nora said. "I mean, have you seen the stuff I can do? A big fucking lightning bolt vaporizes five hundred people and you think it was just coincidence that I was right in the middle of it and I _survived_? I'm not stupid, I know – I know what I did."

Her voice broke, and she hid her face behind her hands.

"Nora... You're blaming yourself for something you had no control over," Jaune said. "Even _if_ you called down lightning and exploded Kuroyuri – which you _didn't_ – it's not like you had any idea what was happening. You were scared, and you… you were a kid."

"Doesn't change anything," Nora said.

"Yes it does," Jaune said.

"What's even the other option, then?" Nora glared at him. "That lightning just struck at just the wrong spot at just the wrong time?"

"I think you'll find, Ms. Valkyrie," Ozpin spoke up, "that there are forces in this world that we may never comprehend. Forces such as fate, that may intervene and… correct things, in ways beyond our understanding."

"What, so _fate_ sent that lightning to save Kuroyuri, huh? To kill that monster?" Nora said, gritting her teeth. "You think that was a good thing?"

"No. I am merely suggesting that fate might have sent the Nuckelavee, just as it might have smitten it," Ozpin said. "We may never know. Perhaps we do not _need_ to know. And for someone to blame oneself for circumstances beyond their control will only result in pain and anguish."

Nora didn't say anything.

"You didn't kill anyone, Nora," Ren said quietly.

She leaned on him, her shoulders trembling as tears escaped from her eyes. Jaune looked away.

In the silence that followed, Goodwitch walked over and put her tablet down in front of Ozpin. "Director."

He picked up the tablet, and as he read whatever was on screen, a grimace slowly took form. After a minute, he put the device down, and shook his head.

"Sir?" Pyrrha asked.

"Nuckelavee," Ozpin said, "are a special kind of Grimm. They don't belong to any particular species – and thus come in many forms. They are as deadly as any Grimm, but what sets them apart is their… resilience."

"Resilience," Jaune said. "What does that mean?"

"At the moment of its death, a Nuckelavee will reach out to the closest soul – that is, a living person – and it will imprint on them a fraction of their own being," Ozpin said. "And tied to that tiny fraction, the Nuckelavee will survive. And in days, or months, or years – depending on the nature of its would-be death – the Nuckelavee may rise again."

Jaune felt a coldness spread through his body. If what Ozpin was saying was true, then it could only mean one thing.

"If – if a Nuckelavee can survive in that manner," Pyrrha said, and Jaune could tell she was recoiling from the same conclusion he'd made, "then how can it ever be truly killed? It must be possible, right? It must have been done before."

"Yes. Nuckelavee are rare, and they have been vanquished in the past, either by indirect means," Ozpin said, "or by a lone warrior, who, after the battle-"

"No way," Jaune said. "That can't be right. They wouldn't… kill themselves?"

"I wish I could tell you otherwise, Mr. Arc," Ozpin said, his tone very low. "But I can assure you I'm speaking only the truth."

Jaune held his head in his hands. This couldn't be happening. He hated _everything_ about this.

"Nora and I," Ren said. "The Nuckelavee tied itself to us, didn't it?"

"I'm afraid so," Ozpin said. "Which means, unfortunately…"

"That the only way it can be killed," Ren said, "is if we die too."

There was a moment of silence.

"Well." Nora wiped a tear from her eye. "That sucks."


End file.
